In which there’s an infodump.

If you’re needing more information on Japan’s 8.9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami:

• Kyodo News (English)
• TBS News (Tokyo Broadcasting System) live stream in Japanese
• News links on all five critical nuclear reactors
• #Japan hashtag on Twitter
• Reuters
• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) response plan

Donate to one of the funds here, or text #REDCROSS to 90999 (70600 in Europe) from your cell to donate $10.

And if you pray, pray now, because Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is currently having difficulty venting the Daiichi reactor, and it must be vented to prevent a meltdown.

Update 10:22 pm AP – Japan nuclear safety commission official says meltdown at nuclear power plant possible. My friend Shigeki (he lives in Tokyo) is very worried.

Update – From the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Where to Get Accurate Information on the Japanese Situation

Update 3/15/11 – At least one containment device is breached. Suspicions are that the fire was caused by a spent fuel storage pond going dry and allowing the spent-but-not-inactive rods stored within to overheat and catch fire. 750 workers have been evacuated due to radiation levels, leaving a brave 50 to try and keep the water pumping. Experts have been quoted as saying that it’s already far worse than 3 Mile Island and is nearing Chernobyl, depending on the amounts of radiation released and what happens next.

• #Fukushima Twitter hashtag
• WNN: Dramatic escalation in Japan