2011 Japan - Alarm over atomic Crisis

2. JAPAN 2011-MARCH 16 – alarm over Japan atomic crisis Over the days of the Fukushima crisis, attention has switched from reactor building 1 to 3, to 2, back to 3 - and now, to 4. Here, it is not the actual reactor that is causing concern. Instead, it is a pool storing fuel rods that had been taken out of the reactor when it was shut down for maintenance before the earthquake struck. There have been reports that water levels were low; and now the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has a team of experts advising in Japan, says the pool is completely dry. This means the fuel rods are exposed to the air. Without water, they will get much hotter, allowing radioactive material to escape - and the NRC says radiation levels are probably extremely high, creating a danger to workers at the plant. The company operating the plant has even warned of "re-criticality" - that a nuclear chain reaction could start among fuel rods in the now dry pool. That would not cause a nuclear explosion but it would increase the release of radioactive substances. Fukushima Daiichi: What went wrong * Reactor 1: Was first to be rocked an explosion on Saturday; fuel rods reportedly 70% damaged * Reactor 2: There are fears a blast on Tuesday breached a containment system; fuel rods reportedly 33% damaged * Reactor 3: Explosion on Monday; smoke or steam seen rising on Wednesday; damage to roof and possibly also to a containment system * Reactor 4: Hit by a major blaze on Tuesday and another fire on Wednesday About 450,000 people have been staying in temporary shelters, many sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums. More than 4,300 people are listed as dead but it is feared the total death toll from the catastrophe, which pulverised the country's north-east coast, will rise substantially.

3. Emperor Akihito went on live TV on Wednesday to make his first public comments on the disaster, and urged an all-out rescue effort. TV stations interrupted programming to show the emperor describing the crisis facing the nation as "unprecedented in scale". The 77-year-old - deeply respected by many Japanese - said: "I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times." - he said he was praying for the people's safety, and expressed his deep concern about the escalating nuclear crisis.

4. People watch a television broadcasting Japan's Emperor Akihito's televised address to the nation at an electronics retail store in Tokyo March 16. Japanese Emperor Akihito said on Wednesday that problems at Japan's nuclear-power reactors were unpredictable and he was "deeply worried" following an earthquake he described as "unprecedented in scale". It was an extraordinarily rare appearance by the emperor and his first public comments since last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people. (Issei Kato/Reuters)

5. Damage at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo, is seen in this satellite image taken 9:35 a.m. local time on March 16. - Reuters

6. A picture released from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) on March 16 shows the damaged third (left) and fourth reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant. - Tepco / AFP - Getty Images

7. Tepco / AFP - Getty Images - This handout picture, released from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on March 16, 2011 shows damaged third (L) and fourth reactors of the TEPCO Fukushima No.1 power plant in Fukushima north of Tokyo. A fresh fire broke out at the quake-hit Japanese atomic power plant in Fukushima early on March 16, compounding Japan's nuclear crisis following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

8. Fukushima, Japan — Disaster response workers. A fresh explosion rocked a stricken nuclear power plant Tuesday and some workers were ordered to leave the PHOTOGRAPH BY: YURIKO NAKAO / Reuters

9. Heavy snow falls on rubble and rescue workers at a devastated factory area hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan March 16, 2011. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

10. Rescue workers walk past a damaged car during heavy snowfall at a factory area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan March 16, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

11. Rescue workers walk past a destroyed car during heavy snowfall at a factory area devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, northern Japan March 16, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

12. A member of a British search and rescue team looks out from the window of a damaged house surrounded by debris from the tsunami, as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers of around 220 personnel searched the town for survivors Wednesday to help in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake and tsunami. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

13. Germany’s Rapid Deployment Unit Urban Search and Rescue team arrives at Misawa Air Base in this U.S. Air Force handout photo dated March 16, 2011. International search and rescue teams are in Japan in response to the magnitude 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. REUTERS/US Air Force Tech. Sgt. Russell J. McBride/Handout

14. A youngster rests in a school gymnasium being used as a center for people to stay at whose homes were damaged by the tsunami in Ofunato, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Matt Dunham / AP

15. People look on as they wait to be scanned for radiation at a temporary scanning center for residents living close to the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant Wednesday, March 16, 2011, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. ( Gregory Bull / AP

16. Tsunami survivors' notes seeking information about their missing relatives and friends put up on the entrance of Natori City Hall in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 five days after the disaster. Koji Sasahara / AP

17. People stay close to the heater at a shelter at Yamada town in Iwate prefecture on March 16, 2011. Str / AFP/ Getty Images

18. People queue up in front of a gas station in Mito, north of Tokyo Wednesday morning, March 16, 2011, following Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. Kyodo News / AP

19. Police officers carry the body of a victim at Friday's earthquake and tsunami devastated area Wednesday March 16, 2011, in Rikuzentakata, Miyagi, northern Japan. Kyodo News / AP

20. Japan Self-Defense Force's members clear debris in Ofunato, Iwate, northern Japan Wednesday, March 16, 2011 after Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. Kyodo News / AP

21. Ships are left aground among destroyed houses in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Wednesday, March 16, 2011, five days after an earthquake-triggered tsunami devastated northeastern Japan. KYDPL / AP

22. A member of a British search and rescue team climbs on the roof of a building damaged by the tsunami, while searching for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Matt Dunham / AP

23. A member of the US Fairfax County search and rescue team from Virginia helps a colleague slide into a crawl space in a destroyed house to look for survivors in Kamaishi on March 16, 2011, four days after the devasting earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11. Nicholas Kamm / AFP/ Getty Images

24. A construction laborer controls the traffic at a devastated area in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Shizuo Kambayashi / AP

25. The 4,724-ton freighter "M.V. Asia Symphony" lies on a pier after being hit by the tsunami, at the port in Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture on March 16, 2011. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP/ Getty Images

26. Self-Defense Force members put a tarp over bodies in Minamisanriku, northern Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Tsuyoshi Matsumoto / AP

27. Sendai, Japan — Hundreds of people wait in a line at the Ito-Yokado supermarket Tuesday morning. Some had waited five hours for the store's first opening in two days. Many of those in line said they were hungry and out of food and water. PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

28. Sendai, Japan — Hundreds of people line the street, waiting for a supermarket to open. Food and water are scarce in Sendai and the electricity remains off.PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

29. Gregory Bull / AP A woman holds her dog as they are scanned for radiation at a temporary scanning center for residents living close to the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on Wednesday, March 16, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

30. Asahi Shimbun via EPA - Medical staff use a geiger counter to screen a woman for possible radiation exposure at a public welfare centre in Hitachi City, Ibaraki on March 16, after she evacuated from an area within 20km (12.4 miles) radius of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The woman tested negative for radiation exposure.

31. Diego Azubel / EPA - A young girl wearing a face mask, followed by her family, boards the bullet train (Shinkansen) in Tokyo station on March 16. Radiation fears and the threat of another earthquake have prompted people to leave Tokyo by any means possible. Despite Japan's reassurance of radiation levels being below hazardous, several airlines have stopped flights into Tokyo and a number of companies are evacuating foreign nationals.

32. Adam Pretty / Getty Images Tokyo residents cram into the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) as they leave Tokyo heading west on March 16.

33. Survivors keep warm under covers in a school gymnasium being used as a shelter in Ofunato, Japan - Matt Dunham / AP

34. People retrieve gasoline from a car damaged by the tsunami in Minamisanrikucho in Miyagi prefecture. - AP

35. People wanting to leave Tokyo wait to enter the Immigration Bureau of Japan on March 16 in Tokyo. - Xinhua / Getty Images Contributor

36. Evacuees from the west side of Fukushima receive radiation scans in Nihonmatsu city in Fukushima prefecture, March 16. - Go Takayama / AFP - Getty Images

37. A family wearing face masks prepares to leave Tokyo on the Shinkansen bullet train at Tokyo station on March 16. Nuclear radiation fears and the threat of another earthquake have prompted many mothers with young children to leave Tokyo by any means possible. Despite Japan's reassurance of radiation levels being below hazardous, several airlines have stopped flights into Tokyo and a number of companies are evacuating foreign nationals. - Everett Kennedy Brown / EPA

38. An official in a radiation protection suit scans an evacuated woman and her dog with a Geiger counter in Koriyama city in Fukushima prefecture on March 16 - Ken Shimizu / AFP - Getty Images

39. Youths carry a woman from a shelter in Miyako, northern Japan on March 16. - Naoya Masuda / AP

40. A boy waits for boiled water to cook instant noodles outside a shelter in Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture on March 16. - AFP - Getty Images

41. Women react after they were reunited in Onagawa, Miyagi, on March 16. - AP

42. Police officers carry the body of a victim in Rikuzentakata, Miyagi on March 16. - AP

43. Rescue workers carry a charred body from the rubble onto a truck from a village destroyed by the devastating earthquake, fires and tsunami March 16, 2011 in Kesennuma, Miyagi province, Japan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

44. Two bodies are left covered in blankets in the devastated town of Rikuzenmaeda in the Iwate prefecture of Japan, March 16. - Shiho Fukada / Redux Pictures

45. Yamada, Japan — Headlights illuminate a disaster area. The official toll of the dead and missing following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened Japan's northeast coast has topped 11,000, with 3,676 confirmed dead. PHOTOGRAPH BY: AFP / Getty Images

46. Fukushima, Japan — Teams of government specialists at emergency rescue headquarters analyze data on the leaked radiation from the nuclear complex damaged by last week's earthquake. PHOTOGRAPH BY: Wally Santana / Associated Press

47. Natori, Japan — Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers look for victims amid the debris. Japan's Emperor Akihito delivered a rare address to a jittery nation in dread of a nuclear catastrophe. PHOTOGRAPH BY: TORU YAMANAKA / AFP / Getty Images

48. Kamaishi, Japan — Members of the Japan Self Defense Force walk through snow-covered ruins. PHOTOGRAPH BY: DAMIR SAGOLJ / Reuters

49. Minami-Sanriku, Japan — Crews in the coastal town of Minami-Sanriku search for victims Monday. PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

50. Ishinomaki, Japan — The Japanese town of Ishinomaki is flooded and the city's downtown area remains deserted. PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times