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Fukushima nuclear emergency, Japan

The info hub reproduces a comment written by Dr Josef Oehmen

UTC-GMT, Wednesday 16 March 2011, 07:20 / !T, Wednesday 16 March 2011, 12:"0UTC#":$0 / C%T, Wednesday 16 March 2011, 0&:20 / J!T, Wednesday 16 March 2011,16:20 / 'DT, Wednesday 16 March 2011, 00:20 More on (he Ja)an emer*ency )a*e +

In the wake of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck

northeastern Japan in March 20 ! ocean waters flooded croplands and settlements liningthe "itakami #i$er. The %d$anced &paceborne Thermal 'mission and #eflection#adiometer (%&T'#) on *%&%+s Terra satellite captured these false,color images beforeand after the tsunami. The right image is from March -! 20 ! and the left is fromJanuary ! 20 . Images/ 'arth bser$atory1*%&%

In the March image (right)! water has spilled o$er the banks both north and south of theri$er. %lthough agricultural fields appear to ha$e escaped the flooding farther inland(image left)! some fields closer to the ocean have seemingly disappeared into the sea.North of the Kitakami, floodwaters extend far enough inland to create what lookslike a parallel river . *ear the coast! only the rugged peaks rising abo$e the floodplains

ha$e escaped inundation. The full images are on *%&% s 'arth bser$atory site!accompanied by more description and technical detail .

UTC-GMT, T esday 1" March 2011, 1 : " / !T, T esday 1" March 2011, 20:1"UTC#":$0 / C%T, T esday 1" March 2011, 1": " / J!T, T esday 1" March 2011,2$: " / 'DT, T esday 1" March 2011, 07: "+ More on (he Ja)an emer*ency )a*e +

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"esennuma 3ity in northeast Japan today. 4hoto/ #euters1%drees 5atif

New radiation leak fears. New emergency measures are being proposed in Japan.Here are summaries and links

Kyodo News has reported that the Japanese go$ernment is considering using &elf,6efense 7orces helicopters to pour water on the spent fuel pool of one of the troubled

reactors at a nuclear power plant in 7ukushima 4refecture to help cool it! 6efenseMinister Toshimi "ita8awa said Tuesday. ut the measure has been put on hold becausethe go$ernment has had trouble assessing the potential impact it would pose to the fuelrods underwater and &67 personnel in$ol$ed in such an operation! "ita8awa toldreporters.

The request for the measure came from a task force set up Tuesday by the go$ernmentand Tokyo 'lectric 4ower 3o.! according to the 6efense Ministry. !he power supplieris battling to bring reactors at the plant under control, including the No. " reactor,where a spent fuel pool was boiling and its water levels were feared to be recedingon !uesday .

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The .%. nc den( and %mer*encyCen(re %C has re eased a ne3 )da(e UTC 1 :10:00 . This said/ %ll units at the7ukushima 6aini! nagawa! and Tokai nuclear power plants are in a safe and stable

condition (i.e. cold shutdown). !he #$%$ remains concerned over the status of theFukushima &aiichi nuclear power plant ! where sea water in:ections to cool the reactorsin units ! 2 and ; are continuing.

%ttempts to return power to the entire 6aiichi site are also continuing. %fter e<plosions at both units and ;! the primary containment $essels of both units are reported to be intact.=owe$er! the explosion that occurred at '" () *!+ on " -arch at the Fukushima&aiichi unit ( may have affected the integrity of its primary containment vessel . %llthree e<plosions were due to an accumulation of hydrogen gas. % fire at unit - occurredon - March 2;/>- ?T3 and lasted two hours.

!he &aily omiuri has reported that high le$els of radiation were detected at theFukushima No. nuclear power plant !uesday morning after a fire broke out neara pool in the No. " reactor where spent nuclear fuel is temporarily kept ! Tokyo'lectric 4ower 3o. said. T'43 said radiation measuring -00 millisie$erts (-00!000microsie$erts) per hour was detected at 0/22 a.m. following the fire! which broke out at9/;@ a.m.

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/!here is no doubt 0these radiation levels1 may pose health risks to humans,2 +hief+abinet 3ecretary ukio %dano told a press conference . 'arlier in the day! ane<plosion occurred at the *o. 2 reactor at / - a.m.! leading to lower pressure in thesuppression pool in the lower part of the reactor containment $essel. %xperts fear that amassive amount of radioactive material has leaked from the reactors after the series

of accidents that may ha$e damaged nuclear fuel rods.

!he -ainichi 3himbun has said that radiation is feared to ha$e leaked after part of acontainer vessel was apparently damaged by an explosion at the troubled No. (reactor of the 4uake5hit Fukushima nuclear plant Tuesday morning! its operator said!triggering fears that the problem could de$elop into a critical AmeltdownB situation. Thego$ernment s *uclear and Industrial &afety %gency said that radiation levels at theplant shot up after the apparent blast at 6 ' a.m. ! and the operator Tokyo 'lectric4ower 3o. ordered some workers at the site to temporarily e$acuate the area.

4rime Minister *aoto "an urged people li$ing between 20 and ;0 kilometers of the plant

to stay indoors. 7esidents within a ('5km radius have already been ordered to vacatethe area following 3aturday8s hydrogen blast at the plant s *o. reactor. ATheradiation le$el has risen substantially. The risk that radiation will leak from now on hasrisen!B "an said.

UTC-GMT, T esday 1" March 2011, 04:1" / !T, T esday 1" March 2011, 1 : "UTC#":$0 / C%T, T esday 1" March 2011, 10:1" / J!T, T esday 1" March 2011,1&:1" / 'DT, T esday 1" March 2011, 02:1"

This cutaway diagram shows the central reactor $essel! thick concrete containment andlower torus structure in a typical boiling water reactor of the same era as 7ukushima6aiichi 2. Craphic/ Dorld *uclear *ews

-#!8s Nuclear 3cience and %ngineering has set up a *uclear Information =ub . This iscarrying updates on the condition of the reactors in the 7ukushima nuclear power plant. It

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is also maintaining a running status update from the 7ederation of 'lectric 4ower3ompanies of Japan.

The info hub reproduces a comment written by 6r Josef ehmen! research scientist atMIT. /#t is worth mentioning at this point that the nuclear fuel in a reactor can

never cause a nuclear explosion like a nuclear bomb. %t 3hernobyl! the e<plosion wascaused by e<cessi$e pressure buildup! hydrogen e<plosion and rupture of all structures! propelling molten core material into the en$ironment. *ote that 3hernobyl did not ha$ea containment structure as a barrier to the en$ironment.B =e discusses /why that did notand will not happen in Japan2.

#n a report, 9&ramatic escalation in Japan8 ! Dorld *uclear *ews reported loud noiseswere heard at 7ukushima 6aiichi 2 at . 0am this morning. % ma:or component beneaththe reactor is confirmed to be damaged. '$acuation to 20 kilometres is being completed!while a fire on site was put out. Tepco ha$e said containment shows Eno change .+onfirmation of loud sounds at unit ( this morning came from the Nuclear and

#ndustrial 3afety $gency :N#3$; . It noted that Athe suppression chamber may bedamaged.B It is not clear that the sounds were e<plosions in the usual sense.

UTC-GMT, T esday 1" March 2011, 07:00 / !T, T esday 1" March 2011, 12:$0UTC#":$0 / C%T, T esday 1" March 2011, 0&:00 / J!T, T esday 1" March 2011,16:00 / 'DT, Monday 1 March 2011, 00:00 More on (he Ja)an emer*ency )a*e +

Co to the Japan 'mergency 4age (click photo) for the complete running updates!resources! documents! pictures and clips.

Coogle 3risis #esponse has set up a 20 Japanese 'arthquake and Tsunami page withdisaster message board links and alarm and warning resources links. These are/

%larm and warning F Japan Meteorological %gency Tsunami Darnings 1%d$isoriesG *uclear and Industrial &afety %gency G 4acific Tsunami Darning 3enter G4rime Ministerof Japan and =is 3abinet (Japanese language)

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6isaster message boards F *TT 6ocomo disaster message board G "66I1au disastermessage board G&oft ank disaster message board G 'M I5' disaster message board GDI553 M disaster message board

UTC-GMT, T esday 1" March 2011, 06:00 / !T, T esday 1" March 2011, 11:$0

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#n a nationally televised statement, Japan8s <rime -inister Naoto Kan saidradiation has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima &ai5ichi nuclear plant inFukushima province ! one of the hardest,hit in 7riday s 9.0,magnitude earthquake andthe ensuing tsunami that has killed more than 0!000 people. AThe le$el seems $ery high!and there is still a $ery high risk of more radiation coming out!B "an said. ADe aremaking utmost efforts to pre$ent further e<plosions and radiation leaks.B

The Cuardian has reported that citi=ens have been ordered indoors in the radiation

leak crisis . This is the worst nuclear crisis Japan has faced since the atomic bombing of=iroshima and *agasaki during Dorld Dar II. It is also the first time that such a gra$enuclear threat has been raised in the world since a nuclear power plant in 3hernobyl!?kraine e<ploded in 9@ .

!he #nstitute for 3cience and #nternational 3ecurity has released a 6igitalClobecommercial satellite image showing the 7ukushima 6aiichi reactor comple< taken onMarch -! 20 .

3ommercial satellite image showing the 7ukushima 6aiichi reactor comple< taken onMarch -! 20 . 4hoto/ I&I&16igitalClobe

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6amage to the top of the reactor building for ?nit as well as damage to the reactor building for ?nit ; following the e<plosions can be seen. &team can be seen $enting outfrom the reactor building for ?nit ;.

I&I& has learned that the satellite image was taken appro<imately three minutes after the

e<plosion at the reactor building for ?nit ;. %ccording to the Tokyo 'lectric 4ower3ompany! the e<plosion at the reactor building for ?nit ; occurred at appro<imately/0 %M local time. %ccording to 6igitalClobe! the image was taken at /0- %M local

time. Taken so soon after the e<plosion! the plume seen e<tending out across the water islikely smoke or dust from the e<plosion.

!he -ainichi has written a plain and blunt perspective on the crisis and what needsto be done.!he Naoto Kan government needs such advice. #ead this in Japanese .

A%n increase in radiation le$els was obser$ed at Tohoku 'lectric 4ower 3o. s nagawa *uclear 4ower 4lant! more than 00 kilometers away from the 7ukushima plant! raising

concern that radiation that leaked from the plant has spread more extensively thanimagined . Many of those e<posed to radiation are worried about possible health damagee$en if the amount is small. To help relie$e their concerns! the government shouldpromptly and efficiently release data on how much radiation they ha$e been e<posed toand pro$ide a detailed e<planation on its possible effects on their health.B

A4ower suppliers appear to be slow in releasing information on damage caused to theirnuclear power plants. It was not until the afternoon of March ; that Tohoku 'lectric4ower 3o. announced the rise in radiation le$els at its nagawa plant! which it haddetected as early as the predawn hours of the day. %xplanations that governmentofficials have provided on radiation leaks and an explosion at the Fukushima

nuclear plant at news conferences are too vague . Co$ernment officials probably fear possible o$erreactions by the public to their announcements! but they should keep inmind that accurate information is indispensable for ensuring the safety of members of the

public.B

UTC-GMT, Monday, 1 March 2011, 1":$0:00 / Ja)an J!T, T esday, 1" March 2011,00:$0:00, UTC#4 ho rs J!T / U!. 'DT, Monday, 1 March 2011, 0&:$0:00, UTC-7ho rs 'DT More on (he Ja)an emer*ency )a*e +

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4eople walk a road between the rubble of destroyed buildings in Minamisanriku. 4hoto/Independent1%4

The news pictures coming out of north coastal Japan now are showing us the full e<tent

of the earthquake and tsunami destruction. The pictures are stark and terrible. The oceantides are now bringing the bodies back + 3oastal administrations are slowly beginning to be able to take stock of the loss of life.

!he #ndependent of ?" has reported/ AJapan was o$erwhelmed today by the $astnumbers of tsunami $ictims. % tide of bodies washed up along the coastline !crematoriums were o$erflowing with the dead and rescue workers ran out of body bags asthe nation faced the reality of its mounting humanitarian! economic and nuclear crisis.Millions were facing a fourth night without water! food or heating in near,free8ingtemperatures in the de$astated north,east.B

&chematic of #eactor 6esign at 7ukushima 6aiichi . Craphic/ *uclear 'nergy Institute

Friday8s double tragedy has caused unimaginable deprivation. #n many areas thereis no running water, no power and four5 to five5hour waits for petrol . <eople are

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suppressing hunger with instant noodles or rice balls while dealing with the loss oflo$ed ones and homes. A4eople are sur$i$ing on little food and water. Things are simplynot coming!B said a go$ernment official in Iwate prefecture! one of the three hardest hit.

!he &aily omiuri has reported that / the second reactor has been hit by blasts

!%<+> official hints meltdown may be under way2 . '<plosions hit the *o. ; reactorof Tokyo 'lectric 4ower 3o. s quake,hit 7ukushima *o. nuclear power plant at about a.m. Monday! in:uring plant workers and &elf,6efense 7orces personnel! the

company said.

The 6aily Homiuri has also reported the rising death toll . %ccording to a centralgo$ernment count! about >;0!000 people were taking shelter at public facilities and othermakeshift e$acuation centers early Monday morning in areas struck by the massi$eearthquake and tsunami. Those e$acuees included about >0!000 in Miyagi 4refectureand ;0!000 in 7ukushima 4refecture as of 2 a.m.

'<plosions hit the *o. ; reactor of Tokyo 'lectric 4ower 3o.+s quake,hit 7ukushima *o. nuclear power plant at about a.m. Monday! in:uring plant workers and &elf,6efense 7orces personnel! T'43 said. 4hoto/ Homiuri

U)da(e on %as(ern Day *h( T me %DT , 1 March 2011, 11:00:00 / UTC-GMT, Monday, 1 March 2011, 1":00:00 . !he Nuclear %nergy #nstitute has said in thislatest update that fuel rods in the reactor vessel of *nit ( at the Fukushima &aiichi

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<ower <lant were temporarily uncovered from cooling water today ! but seawaterin:ection has raised the water le$el to the halfway point ! Tokyo 'lectric 4ower 3o.(T'43 ) said. A&eawater is now being used to cool all three 6aiichi reactors that wereshut down after the March earthquake. ?nit 2 had lost its emergency cooling capacity.Dorkers were preparing to remo$e hydrogen from the reactor building! and T'43 has

opened the steam relief $al$e of the reactor. The primary containment $essels and reactorcores of reactors and ; at the 7ukushima 6aiichi facility are intact! following earlierhydrogen e<plosions in the secondary containment buildings of both reactors.B

#euters has also reported/ /Japan scrambled to avert a meltdown at a strickennuclear plant -onday after a hydrogen explosion at one reactor and exposure offuel rods at another ! :ust days after a de$astating earthquake and tsunami that killed atleast 0!000 people. Ji:i news agency said fuel rods at the *o. 2 reactor had been entirelye<posed and a fuel rod meltdown could not be ruled out. !he plant operator confirmedthere was little water left in the reactor, adding that the fuel rods may have beenexposed . The rods ha$e now been partially co$ered by sea water! the reactor s operator

said.B

J!T, Monday, March 1 , 2011, 07:$0:00 / UTC-GMT, ! nday, 1$ March 2011, 22:$0:00

4eople ride a truck in Minami,&anriku! Miyagi 4refecture! &aturday. 4hoto/ %sahi&himbun16aisuke no. 7rom %sahi &imbun reportage/ =alf of the population of thisseaside community in northeastern Japan are missing! and the town itself appears to ha$e

been almost completely destroyed by 7riday+s $iolent earthquake and tsunami. Minami,&anriku had about @!000 residents before the magnitude 9.0 temblor. More than half ofthose people are not yet accounted for.

Japan Nuclear and #ndustrial 3afety $gency 3eismic &amage #nformation,3ource ?overnment of Japan . *uclear and Industrial &afety %gency (*I&%)confirmed the current situation of nagawa *4&! Tohoku 'lectric 4ower 3o.! IncG7ukushima 6ai,ichi and 7ukushima 6ai,ni *4&s! Tokyo 'lectric 4ower 3o.! Inc. Thefull report is in this file .

J!T, ! nday, 1$ March 2011, 10:00:00 / UTC-GMT, Monday, 1 March 2011, 01:00:00Japan >n the incident regarding Fukushima &ai5ichi Nuclear <ower <lant *nit ,3ource ?overnment of Japan

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Japan s *uclear and Industrial &afety %gency (*I&%) has pro$ided the I%'% withfurther information about the hydrogen e<plosion that occurred today at the ?nit ;reactor at the 7ukushima 6aiichi nuclear plant. %ll personnel at the site are accounted for.&i< people ha$e been in:ured. The reactor building e<ploded but the primary containment$essel was not damaged. The control room of unit ; remains operational.

1 March 0":1" C%T / To5yo Ja)an Monday, 1 March 2011, 1$:1":00, UTC#4ho rs J!T / UTC GMT ,Monday, 1 March 2011, 0 :1":00

ased on information pro$ided by Japanese authorities! the I%'% can confirm thefollowing information about the status of ?nits ! 2! ; and - at 7ukushima 6aini nuclear

power plant. %ll four units automatically shut down on March . %ll units ha$e off,site power and water le$els in all units are stable. Though preparations ha$e been made to doso! there has been no $enting to control pressure at any of the plant s units.

%t unit ! plant operators were able to restore a residual heat remo$er system! which is

now being used to cool the reactor. Dork is in progress to achie$e a cold shutdown of thereactor. Dorkers at units 2 and - are working to restore residual heat remo$al systems.

?nit ; is in a safe! cold shutdown. #adiation dose rate measurements obser$ed at fourlocations around the plant s perimeter o$er a ,hour period on ; March were allnormal.

n the spot reportage in the %sahi &himbun / A%re you from a media organi8ationKBcalled Takehisa Iwabuchi! a ; ,year,old town hall employee! after seeing the arm bandsidentifying us as reporters.BIt looks like the town hall building and the fire departmentha$e been completely swallowed up!B he said. AMuch of the town has been destroyed.B

Iwabuchi said he thought 9!000 people had found refuge from the catastrophe! including;!000 people at &hi8ugawa elementary school! which is located on higher land! and !000 people at a local sports center that has been set up as an emergency center.

#escuers had been trying without success to find the 9!000 missing people by radio andother means. AMany shelters are isolated and ha$e no access to information!B he said.AThe shortage of food is $ery serious. 4lease report quickly on the de$astation here.BIwabuchi bowed and hurried to a shelter.

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'!T

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The 7inancial Times has :ust put out a report titledEJapan battles partial nuclear meltdown . The report has said Japanese nuclear e<perts areworking to contain a partial meltdown at an earthquake,stricken nuclear power plantnorth of Tokyo! as fears grow that the death toll from 7riday s massi$e quake andtsunami could reach the tens of thousands. ukio %dano, Japan8s chief governmentspokesman, said there was a /significant chance2 that radioactive fuel rods hadpartially melted in two reactors at the Fukushima &aiichi nuclear power facility !2-0km north of the capital.

% partial meltdown! e<perts said! would likely mean that some portion of the reactorsuranium fuel rods had cracked or warped from o$erheating! releasing radioacti$e

particles into the reactors containment $essels. &ome of those particles would ha$e

escaped into the air outside when engineers $ented steam from the $essels to relie$e pressure building up inside.

Naoto !akeuchi, head of a police earth4uake response centre in -iyagi prefecture,one of the worst affected areas, on 3unday said he was /certain2 that at least ','''people had been killed in the area ! one of three in the northeast most affected by thequake and tsunami. The number of confirmed deaths rose to !000! and around -00!000

people were sheltering in schools! community centres and go$ernment buildings.

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% woman looks at the damage caused by a tsunami and an earthquake in Ishimaki 3ity!Miyagi 4refecture! after the magnitude @.9 earthquake struck the area March ;! 20 .4hoto/ #euters1Homiuri &himbun

This e<traordinary account of entire towns ha$ing been le$elled in Iwate and Miyagi4refectures is in The 6aily Homiuri/ AThe ne<t town south was #iku8en,Takata! butalmost no buildings were to be seen where the town should have been located . Itseemed as if the port town had suddenly $anished. Dhat I could see there were onlymedium,rise buildings belie$ed to be made of reinforced concrete! such as a hospital.B

A4iles of rubble were seen scattered e$en as far as wooded areas se$eral kilometers awayfrom the coastline. The plane entered Miyagi 4refecture. !he city of Kesennumasmoldered beneath clouds of white smoke . The fishery town was ra$aged by a tsunamiduring the day and suffered intense bla8es at night. %s if nothing burnable was left! thetragic area was filled with only rubble.B

fficials in protecti$e gear at the the 7ukushima nuclear plant in Japan. 4hotograph/Cuardian1"im "yung,=oon,#euters

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GMT/UTC ! nday, 1$ March 2011 0"+$0 / Ja)an, ! nday, 1$ March 2011, 1 :$0:00,UTC#4 ho rs J!T / U!., '!T, !a( rday, 12 March 2011, 21:$0:00, UTC-& ho rs '!T FThe Cuardian has reported that Tokyo 4ower said radiation levels at the plant hadexceeded the legal limit on 3unday morning . =ourly radiation at the site was measuredat @@2 micro sie$ert! in e<cess of the allowable le$el of >00! Japan s nuclear safety

agency said. The go$ernment s chief spokesman! Hukio 'dano! said the le$el had brieflyrisen !20- micro sie$ert.

AThere was no sudden rise in radiation because of the $entilation acti$ities!B 'dano said!adding that there was no immediate threat to human health. ADe are doing the two thingsat the same time F $enting air out of the reactor and supplying water into the reactor!B hetold reporters. %fforts were also under way to cool off three reactors at the firm8s No.( nuclear plant in Fukushima ! about >0 miles south of Tokyo. The complete failure ofmore cooling systems has added an additional le$el of danger to what was already one ofthe worst nuclear accidents in Japan s history. The go$ernment has classed the accidentas le$el four on an international scale of 8ero to se$en.

$t least (( people are known to have been exposed to radiation and were beingtreated in hospital, but Japan8s nuclear and industrial safety agency said that asmany as 6' people may have been exposed . Tepco confirmed that the *o. ; reactor ofthe quake,hit 7ukushima plant had lost its cooling functions. Hesterday a small amount ofradiation leaked after similar problems hit the facility s *o. reactor.

4olice officers wearing respirators guide people away from the 7ukushima nuclear power plant after the e<plosion. 4hoto/ #euters

*ineteen people were found to ha$e been e<posed to radioacti$ity on &undayG three morewere e<posed when the roof of a building housing the *o. reactor e<ploded the

pre$ious day. Tepco said the *o. reactor had partially melted F the first time this hashappened in Japan F and was continuing effort to cool the reactor with seawater! a procedure a ritish nuclear e<pert described as Aan act of desperationB.

Cen(ra % ro)ean T me C%T 1$ March 2011, 02$" C%T / Ja)an,! nday, 1$ March2011, 10:$":00, UTC#4 ho rs J!T / nd a !T , ! nday, 1$ March 2011, 07:0":00,UTC#":$0 ho rs !T F !he #$%$ $lert @og seems to be normally working again andcan be reached . This new alert is a corrected update.

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A%n earlier $ersion of this release incorrectly described pressure $enting actions at ?nits! 2! and - at the 7ukushima 6aini nuclear power plant. Aenting did not occur at theseunits . Japanese authorities ha$e informed the I%'% that ?nits ! 2! and - at the7ukushima 6aini retain off,site power. 6aini ?nit ; is in a safe! cold shutdown!according to Japanese officials.

/Japanese authorities have reported some casualties to nuclear plant workers . %t7ukushima 6aichi! four workers were in:ured by the e<plosion at the ?nit reactor! andthere are three other reported in:uries in other incidents. In addition! one worker wase<posed to higher,than,normal radiation le$els that fall below the I%'% guidance foremergency situations. %t 7ukushima 6aini! one worker has died in a crane operationaccident and four others ha$e been in:ured.

AIn partnership with the Dorld Meteorological rgani8ation ! the I%'% is pro$iding itsmember states with weather forecasts for the affected areas in Japan. The latest

predictions ha$e indicated winds mo$ing to the *ortheast! away from Japanese coast

o$er the ne<t three days.B

UTC GMT/ ( me: !a( rday, 12 March 2011, 1&:00:00 / To5yo, ! nday, 1$ March2011, 00:0$:00 UTC#4 ho rs J!T / U!., 'ac f c, !a( rday, 12 March 2011, 10:00:00 F$n assessment of the tsunami and earth4uake damage has been released by7eliefBeb ! the information system for humanitarian relief . 5andslides ha$e beenreported in ; areas in Japan .

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The 7ukushima nuclear plant in 7ukushima prefecture in northeastern Japan is pictured ina 200@ file photo. The reports risk of a significant radiation leak at two Japanese nuclear

power plants following 7riday+s earthquake and tsunami threatens to halt an industry thathas been boosted by rising demands for power from %sia in particular. 'n$ironmentalistsare re$isiting the arguments made against atomic power after the Three Mile Island

accident in 9 9 and the 3hernobyl disaster in 9@ . 4hoto/ Linhua1"yodo file photo

More than 2!>00 houses ha$e totally collapsed while a further 2!>00 houses are damagedas a result of the earthquake and tsunami. Ten $illages in Iwate prefecture and !@00households in 7ukushima prefecture ha$e been de$astated by the tsunami.

#oads! bridges! railroads! dykes and buildings are damaged in about - 0 places.%lectricity remains cut in approximately five million households, while one millionhouseholds in the most affected areas have had their water supply cut . In the mostaffected areas of north eastern Japan! the main highways remain closedG only emergencyaid $ehicles are allowed to pass through the highway. &e$eral airports ha$e reopened but

two remain closed.

UTC or GMT/ : !a( rday, 12 March 2011, 1":01:22 / To5yo, ! nday, 1$ March2011, 00:02:00 UTC#4 ho rs J!T / U!., 'ac f c, !a( rday, 12 March 2011, 07:0$:00 /#euters has reported that e<perts said pictures of mist abo$e the plant suggested onlysmall amounts of radiation had been e<pelled as part of measures to ensure its stability!far from the radioactive clouds that +hernobyl spewed out when it exploded inCD6 . AThe e<plosion at *o. generating set of the 7ukushima nuclear plant in Japan!which took place today! will not be a repetition of the +hernobyl nuclear disaster,2said Aaleriy Hlyhalo, deputy director of the +hernobyl nuclear safety centre .

The #euters report quoted 4rof. 4addy #egan! nuclear physicist from ritain s &urrey?ni$ersity/ AIf the pressure $essel! which is the thing that actually holds all the nuclearfuel if that was to e<plode N that s basically what happened at 3hernobyl N you getan enormous release of radioacti$e material. #t doesn8t look from the televisionpictures E as though it8s the vessel itself .B Tele$ision footage showed an e<plosion ina large building in the area of the number one reactor at the 6aiichi nuclear facility. Creysmoke billowed from the site and later! a building was shown without its e<terior walls.

8/13/2019 50856188 Fukushima Nuclear Emergency

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#euters Japan edition online is running continuous news updates! info alerts! $ideo feedsand pictures on its special section.

The massi$e rescue effort is now under way. Japan8s Kyodo News said about '','''people were evacuated nationwide, including C',''' from areas near the nuclear

plant ! many seeking refuge in shelters! wrapped in blankets! some clutching each othersobbing. The Mainichi 6aily *ews has reported that about C,)'' people areunaccounted for in the town of -inamisanriku in -iyagi <refecture following7riday s powerful earthquake! prefectural officials said &aturday. The figure is more thanhalf of the population of about !000 in the town on the 4acific coast! they said. &ee#euters Japan for more on the tsunami and quake .