http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26blossom.html?_r=2&hp%3C/a%3E
Japan's Cherry Blossoms Bloom, but Nuclear Fears Keep Tourists Away
As the warm weather is approaching slowly, colorful, scented flowers are slowly beginning to bloom. Cherry blossoms are known to bloom mid April, and Cherry Blossoms in Miharu, Japan are known to attract tourists every year despite blizzards, earthquake and a Nuclear disaster. With the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant about 30 miles away, it scared off tourists this year. 85 year old vegetable farmer, Masayoshi Hashimoto said "this tree has lived though many disasters. It may survive the nuclear incident, but the town might not." Cherry Blossom season (in Japan called Sakura) is known to bloom along the Tohoku coast, a region heavily hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Each year, this area is known to be filled with tourists to see the Cherry Blossoms, except for this year, due to risks of high radiations, as well as the damages from this disaster. Last year 300,00 tourists came to see the tree blooming, while this year, that number dropped by 80 percent. The town has worked hard to make sure, their one thousand year old tree made it through every hardship. The mayor of Hirosaki said "these cherry trees blossom every year despite any catastrophe. Like the trees, we will also recover."
I believe this article is very important because it shows how hard everyone and everything was hit. The Earthquake as well as Tsunami absolutely destroyed Japan, but one of their tourist sightseeing attractions is still standing, stronger as ever. This 40 foot tall, one thousand year old tree is still standing. Even though tourists attraction could have been higher, that doesn't stop the beautiful Cherry Blossom Tree from blooming. Not only did the tourist attractions decreased, but the communities expectations as well as hard working outcomes decreased. "Damage to tourism in the area adds to the woes of a local economy that has suffered severe blows: many fishing and farming communities were decimated in the tsunami and many of the factories in the region are struggling to rebuild or restart production lines." The Cherry Blossom was known for the amount of tourists that it attracted as well as the profit it brought along. "In Miharu, the weeping sakura has been an important source of income for and aging farming community. About 300,000 people descended on the town to view the 40-foot tree last year, spending generously at local inns and eateries, as well as on produce. This year, the town expected the number of visitors to fall about 80 percent." This article shows that even for the smallest things, everyone is suffering, and the people suffering are depending on others, to help them get on their feet.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
NATURAL DISASTER #1
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_17819292
It's been one month after the Japan's 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, has Japan overcome its challenges? This article is an update of what kind of challenges Japan is still facing even a month after this disaster. As mentioned in the beginning of the article; "Thousands are missing and feared dead, tens of thousands have fled their homes, a leaking nuclear plant remains crippled and powerful aftershocks keep coming." A month later, and Japan is still struggling; trying to fix what was damaged, trying to help residents who are left with nothing, while everything around them is just piled up in a mountain. This article shows what is being done to help solve these problems, and to help residents get back on their feet.After the Earthquake and the Tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant's power was shut down and it has been overheating since then. Not to cause any more damage, the government cleared the area around the power plant with a radius of 20 kilometers (12 miles). Its better to act now and be safe, rather than risk thousands of people's lives. As time passes by, more and more bodies are found. So far about 13,000 deaths have been verified, while about 13,700 people are still missing. Majority of residents left their homes, because they felt it wasn't safe, while others were forced to leave due to dangerous conditions or soon to be dangerous conditions ( nuclear power plant). As shelters become over crowded, and more residents lose their homes, Do they have anything else to lose, or have they lost everything?
When reading this article, I was shocked to see how much damage was caused. I knew that the earthquake as well as the Tsunami caused a lot of damage, but i didn't know that a month later there would still be so many problems. To see how people are struggling; reading that about 210,000 people don't have running water, and 240,000 don't have electricity- it shows how hard it is. This just shows how people struggle and there is nothing they can do, because everyone in Japan is struggling. Yuhei Sato said "Once we get over one mountain, we just see another one rise up in front of us.We must find the end of the tunnel, but we haven't, and that is terribly difficult to bear." As the earthquake finished (for a while), the earthquake caused a tsunami, and the tsunami cause the power plant to shut off, and its been over heated ever since.People in Japan can not wait for this to be over, they are working hard to help fix the damages, but everyone is tired, scared, and don't know what else to expect.They can not wait for this this to be over. Seeing how people in Japan struggle, its upsetting because they had nothing to do with it. They can not control what happens to the Earth. As the Natural disaster occurred, they couldn't do anything, but just hope that everyone and everything will be okay. With about $310 billion dollars in damage, obviously a lot of work has been done and there is still a lot of work to be done in the future; to rebuild this island of Japan.
It's been one month after the Japan's 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, has Japan overcome its challenges? This article is an update of what kind of challenges Japan is still facing even a month after this disaster. As mentioned in the beginning of the article; "Thousands are missing and feared dead, tens of thousands have fled their homes, a leaking nuclear plant remains crippled and powerful aftershocks keep coming." A month later, and Japan is still struggling; trying to fix what was damaged, trying to help residents who are left with nothing, while everything around them is just piled up in a mountain. This article shows what is being done to help solve these problems, and to help residents get back on their feet.After the Earthquake and the Tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant's power was shut down and it has been overheating since then. Not to cause any more damage, the government cleared the area around the power plant with a radius of 20 kilometers (12 miles). Its better to act now and be safe, rather than risk thousands of people's lives. As time passes by, more and more bodies are found. So far about 13,000 deaths have been verified, while about 13,700 people are still missing. Majority of residents left their homes, because they felt it wasn't safe, while others were forced to leave due to dangerous conditions or soon to be dangerous conditions ( nuclear power plant). As shelters become over crowded, and more residents lose their homes, Do they have anything else to lose, or have they lost everything?
When reading this article, I was shocked to see how much damage was caused. I knew that the earthquake as well as the Tsunami caused a lot of damage, but i didn't know that a month later there would still be so many problems. To see how people are struggling; reading that about 210,000 people don't have running water, and 240,000 don't have electricity- it shows how hard it is. This just shows how people struggle and there is nothing they can do, because everyone in Japan is struggling. Yuhei Sato said "Once we get over one mountain, we just see another one rise up in front of us.We must find the end of the tunnel, but we haven't, and that is terribly difficult to bear." As the earthquake finished (for a while), the earthquake caused a tsunami, and the tsunami cause the power plant to shut off, and its been over heated ever since.People in Japan can not wait for this to be over, they are working hard to help fix the damages, but everyone is tired, scared, and don't know what else to expect.They can not wait for this this to be over. Seeing how people in Japan struggle, its upsetting because they had nothing to do with it. They can not control what happens to the Earth. As the Natural disaster occurred, they couldn't do anything, but just hope that everyone and everything will be okay. With about $310 billion dollars in damage, obviously a lot of work has been done and there is still a lot of work to be done in the future; to rebuild this island of Japan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)