The March 11 earthquake has plunged Japan into a state of nuclear crisis as fresh reports of blasts at nuclear plants pour in every few hours. Fears of radiation leaks and a nuclear catastrophe similar to the man-made one in Hiroshima and Nagasaki six and a half decades ago during the second world war has left the world jittery.
Japan was caught off guard by a powerful earthquake, measuring 9.0 in magnitude on the afternoon of Friday, March 11. The quake that struck the Pacific Coast triggered a monstrous tsunami that engulfed half of the nation, while other regions suffered outbreak of fires and landslides.
Even as the earthquake continued its destruction, concerns over the countries' nuclear installations emerged. In a bid to calm fears, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan told media personnel in Tokyo on Friday that nuclear power facilities across Japan were not damaged and there was no radiation leakage reported.
However, it was only a matter of time before the possibility of a nuclear disaster reared its ugly head.
Start the slideshow to track Japan's unfolding nuclear crisis:
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The impending nuclear disaster turned near reality on Saturday, March 12 as pressure rose inside the Daiichi plant, and later the Daini plant. Authorities quickly ordered evacuation around the plants and declared a state of emergency.Meanwhile, military and utility officials scrambled to tame rising pressure and radioactivity levels inside the units and stabilize the systems used to cool the plants' hot reactor cores.But it was not long before an explosion rocked the number 1 reactor at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima, located 250km (155 miles) north of Tokyo.The blast caused a portion of a building to crumble and sent white smoke billowing into the air.Tokyo Electric Power said four of its workers had been injured in the blast.The evacuation zone around the damaged nuclear plant was extended to 20km (12.4 miles) from 10km and International Atomic Energy Agency said an estimated 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area.REUTERS/Ho NewOn Sunday, a state of emergency was also declared at the Onagawa plant after elevated levels of radiation were detected.Later, however, the levels returned to normal.REUTERS/KYODO KyodoSecond explosion was reported at the Daiichi plant on Monday, March 14. The site of the blast was the number 3 reactor, injuring six workers.Officials said the reactor container has not been breached and there is no major rise in radiation.The blast was caused by a build-up of hydrogen in the building around the No 3 reactor at the Fukushima Number One plant.The damage caused by the second blast was similar to Saturday's blast. Footage showed outer walls completely worn off, leaving only a skeletal frame.
REUTERS/Ho NewA fire broke out at the Number 4 reactor on Monday, but was extinguished the next day.REUTERS/KYODO KyodoThe third explosion was reported Tuesday morning inside the building of Daiichi reactor number 2 near the suppression pool, a critical component for cooling the fuel core.The blast occurred at 11:01 AM on Monday at the No.3 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has said it has so far observed no abnormal rise in radiation around the compound of the plant.Meanwhile, the company informed that eleven people were injured in the blast.With 600 people still estimated to be in the area, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has advised anyone remaining within 20 kilometers of the power plant to take shelter inside buildings.REUTERS/KYODO KyodoAs explosions continue to occur, the fears of massive radiation leak escalate, as Japan said radiation had already spread from the crippled reactors and there was "a very high risk" of further leakage.REUTERS/Cheryl RaveloAs of Tuesday, as many as 140,000 people have been forced to stay indoors. Thousands of others have been evacuated from the area around plants.Although the radiation levels remain under the legal limits for now, there are rising fears of the danger it poses for health."The level seems very high and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said.Meanwhile, Tokyo reported slightly elevated radiation levels , but officials said the increase was too small to threaten the 39 million people in and around the capital. 100 times the normal levels of radiation was reported south of Fukushima Tuesday morning."A leak of nuclear material is feared," Japan's nuclear safety agency spokesman Shinki Kinjo had also warned Monday.(This is a live article, please revisit and refresh for the latest updates on Japan Nuclear Blasts)Reuters
