`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Monday, March 14, 2011

Japan tries to avert nuclear meltdown as tsunami toll rises

Workers carry bodies from a damaged home for the elderly after an earthquake and tsunami struck Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan March 13, 2011. REUTERS/Kyodo

Rescue operation in Sendai (01:13) Report

FUKUSHIMA, Japan | Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:54am EDT

(Reuters) - Japan fought on Sunday to avert a meltdown at three earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors, describing the massive quake and tsunami, which may have killed more than 10,000 people, as the nation's biggest crisis since World War Two.

The world's third-largest economy is struggling to respond to a disaster of epic proportions, with more than 1 million without water or power and whole towns wiped off the map.

"The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II," a grim-faced Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a news conference.

"We're under scrutiny on whether we, the Japanese people, can overcome this crisis."

As he spoke, officials worked desperately to stop fuel rods in the damaged reactors from overheating, which could in turn melt the container that houses the core, or even explode, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.

The government said a building housing a second reactor at the same complex in Fukushima was at risk of exploding after a blast blew the roof off the first the day before. The complex is 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Later it said it was pouring seawater into a third reactor to release a build-up of pressure.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the lowest state of emergency had been declared at a separate nuclear power plant north of the town of Sendai, which bore the brunt of the tsunami.

However, Japan's nuclear safety agency said there had been a rise in radiation at the Onagawa facility due to leakage from the Fukushima plant and there was no problem with the cooling process there.

Fukushima's No. 1 reactor, where the roof was ripped off, is 40 years old and was originally scheduled to go out of commission in February but had its operating license extended another 10 years.

But Kan said the crisis was not another Chernobyl, referring to the nuclear disaster of 1986 in Soviet Ukraine.

"Radiation has been released in the air, but there are no reports that a large amount was released," Jiji news agency quoted him as saying. "This is fundamentally different from the Chernobyl accident."

Nevertheless, France recommended its citizens leave the Tokyo region, citing the risk of further earthquakes and uncertainty about the nuclear plants.

Broadcaster NHK, quoting a police official, said more than 10,000 people may have been killed as the wall of water triggered by Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake surged across the coastline, reducing whole towns to rubble.

Almost two million households were without power in the freezing north, the government said. There were about 1.4 million without running water. - Reuters

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.