Live streams

Three Disasters Slow Japan Cleanup

VOA Asia Correspondent Steve Herman chats with VOA web followers on Twitter about Japan's struggle to recover from an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis

A month following the quake and tsunami much of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture still lies in ruin.

TEXT SIZE - +

Last updated on: April 19, 2011 8:00 PM

Reflecting on his coverage of Japan's historic three-pronged disaster, VOA Asia Correspondent Steve Herman says he was surprised to see so little progress in the areas worst hit by last month's 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

“There's been barely [a] dent made in [the] cleanup of [the] rubble. It's vast and not yet priority,” Herman said Wednesday during a live conversation on Twitter with VOA followers from around the world.

Steve was one of two American reporters to first visit the grounds of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where the combined impact of the earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear crisis and the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

Read Steve’s comments and insights from a transcript of TweetChat below.

Featured Videos

Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Video

Volunteers Help Revive LA's Concrete River

The Los Angeles River is a concrete drainage channel through much of its 80-kilometer length. It channels waste-water from storm drains and has become a receptacle for much of the city's trash. But as Mike O'Sullivan reports, the river is slowly being restored with the help of volunteers, who take part in an annual clean-up.