Earthquake Hits Northern Japan. Fate Of Toyota Ohira Plant Unsure
An 8.9 earthquake, the world’s sixth largest, followed by a massive tsunami, rocked the north of Japan. The center is close to Sendai, where Toyota recently opened a new plant. Sendai took the brunt of the quake. Telephone service all over Japan is severely degraded. Via a very spotty cellphone line, I reached Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco, who was standing outside his office building, like most people in Tokyo.
Toyota had no information from or communication with their plant in Ohira near Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Nolasco said. Reuters reports both Toyota assembly plants in the area as closed.
Toyota Boshoku Corp., a Toyota Motor supplier, reports damage at a plant in Miyagi prefecture.
The Tokyo Broadcasting System reports 5 Nissan factories to be closed.
NHK reports that a ceiling collapsed at a Honda Motor plant in Tochigi. Two workers are confirmed dead.
Japanese TV shows pictures of the Sendai airport, completely flooded. The area is bracing for a 30 foot tsunami. Toyota’s Ohira plant is further up in the mountains and should be spared the effects of the tidal wave. As night fell, Sendai was completely blacked out.
Trains and airports are closed in Tokyo. Incoming flights to Narita are rerouted to the U.S. airforce base in Yokota.
Japan’s Jiji Press has a picture of the bent tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower.
Latest dispatch from Toyota, via email from spokesperson Dion Corbett:
TMC has established a company-wide emergency task force to take initial measures.
1. Employees
2. Production
3. Dealers
Note: The Central Motor Corporation and the Kanto Auto Works are part of Toyota, but technically not part of TMC. Hence, TMC plants can restart production while employees at Central Motor evacuate to safe areas. The plant in Ohira near Sendai is a Central Motor Corp. plant.
Late in the evening, we hear that some 70,000 people were evacuated from the Sendai area. On Japanese TV, there are scenes of whole towns in the Myagi prefecture, burning. Some 300 people were found dead in Sendai, killed by the tsunami.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Sad to see such havoc. I hope the loss of life is minimal. Interesting to note how well much of the country's structures withstood the quake; a very visible indicator of the value of high seismic design standards required in Japan. But the water, wow. Now I worry about all the nuclear power plants. Hopefully they all shut down properly and there is no cooling water loss...
B&B COULD SOMEBODY THATS QUICKER ON THE KEY BOARD THAN ME NOTIFY ED N to ban these idiots