Nissan Plants Closed After Japan Quake

In the wake of the biggest earthquake in the history of Japan, several industrial giants, including a few auto makers, have begun assessing the damage and announcing the measures taken to limit and repair them. The most hit two auto makers, as some of you already know, were Nissan and Toyota.

Nissan announced late last night what operations have been shut down and what operations have been in some way affected by the quake. According to the car maker, the damage and fires caused by the massive shaking have slightly injured only two of its employees.

In all, yesterday Nissan closed five of its Japanese plants: Iwaki Plant (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture), Tochigi Plant (Kawachi County, Tochigi Prefecture), Yokohama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Oppama Plant (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), Zama Operations Center (Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture).

For now, there is no telling how long the shutdown of the plants will last. Nissan says all the plants will remain closed throughout Saturday March 12 and Sunday March 13, but it also adds that resuming the work on Monday “will be decided after all assessments including suppliers, are conducted.”

On Friday, March 11, the plates beneath the waters near the east coast of Honshu, Japan began moving, reaching a measured magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The aftermath of the quake itself, somewhat limited in terms of direct damage, was brought to new heights of devastation by the tsunami that followed. By the time we are writing this, Japanese rescuers and media report some 900 people have been killed.

The biggest danger of the moment remains however the difficulties engineers are facing at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. According to CNN, citing Japanese public broadcaster NHK, an explosion occurred a few hours ago at the facility.