THE ELEMENTS STRIKE

It has been a worrying start to 2011 - a terrible terrorist act at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, public disturbances gripping many Arab countries, civil war in Libya, underground tremors causing serious damage to the New Zealand city of Christchurch and the terrible cyclone Yasi, with wind speeds of up to 300 km an hour, hitting Australia… And then, on the morning of 11 March, the whole world was focused on Japan.

The land of the rising sun was hit by an earthquake of no less than force 8.9, which has already been described as the most powerful in Japan's modern history. The epicentre was 130 km from the coastal prefecture of Miyagi. A short time afterwards a huge tsunami, with waves which in some places (for example the port of Sendai) reached heights of ten metres and poured up to five kilometres inland, struck Japan's north-east coast. The huge waves, and not the earthquake, were the main worry on that terrible morning. Villages near the ocean were completely submerged. This may be the first time the world has witnessed such a sight. Whereas the pictures of the deadly earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia in December 2004 reached viewers some time afterwards, this time the world's TV channels carried direct relays of the huge waves that struck Japan, where many street cameras have been set up and where there are many advanced means of communication.

There was an apocalyptic feeling among more pessimistically minded viewers as they watched these pictures, especially as rumours are now active on the Internet about a link between the earthquake in Japan and explosions on the sun and the closest proximity for decades between the earth and the moon (the so-called lunar perigee on 19 March). Furthermore, experts say, the underground tremors off the Japanese coast displaced the earth's axis by about 15 centimetres and even reduced the earth day by 1.6 micro-seconds.

Indeed, what happened was all too strong a reminder of Hollywood films about the end of the world - a mishmash of uprooted trees and houses, huge ships tossed onto the shore, cars crushed like toys by the oncoming tide, shattered bridges and piers and distended roads…

The storm led to mass disruptions of electricity, water and gas supplies and numerous fires broke out, including at oil refineries. Transport was shut down in many parts of the country. The number of dead and injured is still being established. First reports say that 9,500 people are missing in the port of Minami Sanriku alone…

At the same time, scientists are predicting that tremors of force 7 will continue on the island of Honshu for a month. But in the first few hours after the quake the Japanese government was mainly concerned not by the material damage or rescue operations, but the fact that the earthquake and the tsunami had affected the operation of local nuclear power stations - ten of the country's 54 reactors were shut down.

Nevertheless, on 12 March there was still an explosion at the Fukusima-1 nuclear power plant, 250 km north-east of Tokyo, where the automatic reactor cooling system went out of action. Fortunately, the reactor was not affected and the worst scenario was avoided. Although there were radiation leaks, causing Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to order the evacuation of people living 20 km from the station. People still in the town were asked to leave their homes, switch off their air conditioners and not to drink tap water.

Meanwhile, on the morning of 13 March, it was reported that the cooling systems of another six reactors were also out of action: the first, second and third at Fukusima-1 and the first, second and fourth at Fukusima-2. Sea water is being used in an attempt to cool the reactors. Moreover, a state of emergency was declared at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi province.

Thus, nearly 70 years after the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the land of the rising sun again faces the threat of radioactive contamination. There has been a noticeable increase worldwide in public loss of faith in nuclear power.

In the very first hours after the disaster it was realized that material damage in Japan would amount to tens of billions of dollars. The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said his country faces its biggest crisis since Second World War.

It is enough to mention that these same nuclear power plants provide about 30% of Japan's energy consumption. A heavy blow has clearly been struck to the country's fishing industry. Nissan and Toyota have already announced that they are suspending production at their plants in Japan. And the list goes on and on.

At the moment it is difficult to say how much this will affect the Japanese economy, although, of course, there is little cause for optimism. Especially if you take into account the fact that, before the elements struck, the country was experiencing economic difficulties, with huge foreign debt and a growing political crisis. And now consumer activity will inevitably be reduced in Japan and insurance companies face payouts of millions of yuan.

The world economy as a whole cannot extract much comfort because Japan is the world's third biggest economy. The disturbances in the Middle East are also a negative factor in this respect. What is more, we might expect a second tsunami-like wave of global economic crisis.

The earthquakes in Japan have been yet another demonstration that mankind, despite acquiring computers and other technological wizardry, is just as defenceless now as it was centuries ago against the forces of nature. One of the world's most high-tech countries, and its third biggest economy, could do nothing to defend itself. At the same time, one has to consider the fact that, unfortunately, there are few countries in the world like Japan. If such a disaster had happened in a less developed country the consequences would have been much more terrible. The world's most earthquake-resistant structures are being built in the land of the rising sun: proof was provided when most of the houses in Tokyo, including skyscrapers, were able to withstand the earthquake. The Japanese themselves are always having exercises and are always prepared for the elements to strike. But still the elements have proved to be stronger.

However, let us hope for the best - first of all for nature to be compassionate and, second, that Japan will prevail. Its people, through their steadfastness and industry, have more than once shown that they are capable of real miracles.