[InclinedPlane]

If an earthquake causes a bridge to collapse, killing people, do we blame the bridge or the earthquake? If an earthquake causes a dam to fail (which happened due to the Tohoku quake), killing people, do we blame the dam or the earthquake? If an earthquake causes a tall building to topple, should we build shorter buildings?

The Fukushima reactors were the most dangerous design currently still in operation in G-7 countries, and handling of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami was one of the most disorganized and most mismanaged in history. And yet for all of that the nuclear disaster still resulted in far fewer deaths than occurred in coal mining in that year.

[bluedanieru]

Just to be clear, the handling of the Fukushima incident has been an absolute shit-show. The handling of the earthquake and the tsunami, in a broader sense, has been excellent.

[wapper]

Which didn't prevent the other power plants in Japan from killing more people than the nuclear disaster will kill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYT6BjfBro (1m15s in)

(death toll from that fire, explosions around it and people locking themselves in their homes, then getting enveloped by the smoke, was over 200. It was not the only oil disaster during the earthquake)