Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
CBS news just reported that the US is sending extra pumps and piping/hose to Japan to help with the problem. The US has also recommended that US citizens within 50 miles of the reactor should evacuate, based on unspecified new information.
It seems strange that the expat exodus (mainly by Europeans, it appears) and the hoarding by locals is showing up only now rather than earlier. Outbound flights were available for quite some time. I guess they fear that it could get worse or is it simply a delayed over-reaction?
An interpreter friend in Tokyo says that all her work this week was canceled.
For the late onset of hoarding/fleeing, I think this is due to the increasing feeling that the government and TEPCO are not being forthcoming with information. Japan has a long history of playing down bad news in the name of saving face, and their nuclear industry in particular has been guilty of this on several occasions.
On my flight ex-NRT yesterday there were quite a few longterm expats who had decided it was time to cut bait due to the uncertainty.