The Crippled Japanese Nuclear Reactors - Interactive Feature. Japan Earthquake 2011: Nuclear Meltdown Looms As New Threat. IWAKI, Japan -- A partial meltdown was likely under way at a second nuclear reactor, a top Japanese official said Sunday, as authorities frantically tried to prevent a similar threat from nearby unit following a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.
Some 170,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area covering a radius of 12 miles (20 kilometers) around the plant in Fukushima near Iwaki. A meltdown refers to a very serious collapse of a power plant's systems and its ability to manage temperatures. A complete meltdown would release uranium and dangerous byproducts into the environment that can pose serious health risks. Japan dealt with the nuclear threat as it struggled to determine the scope of the twin disasters Friday, when an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the most powerful in its recorded history, was followed by a tsunami that ravaged its northeastern coast with breathtaking speed and power.
Still, a partial meltdown in the unit is "highly possible," he told reporters. Share + Japan earthquake. So what do we know?
Here's a run down of events so far: - The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire. - The earthquake struck at 1446 local time (0546 GMT). - 22 people are confirmed dead, with many more missing. Some news agencies are reporting a higher number of fatalities. - The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. Japan quake: Fears of second nuclear reactor blast. 13 March 2011Last updated at 17:14 IAEA chief explains how Japan's power plants have been affected in the aftermath of the quake There is a risk of a second explosion at the quake-hit Fukushima power station, Japanese officials have said.
However, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said the facility could withstand the impact and the nuclear reactor itself would not be damaged. Technicians are frantically battling to cool reactor 3 following a blast at the building housing reactor 1 on Saturday. Japanese nuclear plants' operator scrambles to avert meltdowns. TOKYO - Japanese authorities said Sunday that efforts to restart the cooling system at one of the reactors damaged by Friday's earthquake had failed, even as officials struggled to bring several other damaged reactors under control.
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have not found a way to stabilize overheated reactors and feared the possibility of partial nuclear meltdown, which could potentially cause a further release of radioactive material, Japan's top government spokesman said Sunday. Engineers were having trouble, in particular, with two units at the nuclear facility - one of which lost its outer containment wall Saturday in an explosion.
Meanwhile, officials declared a state of emergency at a nuclear power plant in Onagawa, where excessive radiation levels were reported. "At the risk of raising further public concern, we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion," Edano said. But Edano also insisted that an explosion would have no impact on human health. FOCUS Information Agency. Japan quake live blog: Power outage ordered in Toyko to conserve energy. An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan early Friday, triggering tsunamis that caused widespread devastation and crippled a nuclear power plant.
Are you in an affected area? Send an iReport. Read the full report on the quake, tsunami and the fears surrounding Japan's damaged nuclear reactors. [11:43 p.m. ET Sunday, 12:43 p.m. Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed images of white smoke rising above the facility. Japan's chief cabinet secretary said a day earlier that accumulating hydrogen gas "may potentially cause an explosion" in the building housing the No. 3 reactor at the Daiichi plant.
. [11:33 p.m. As of 10 a.m., at least 1,720 people were missing and 1,962 injured, according to the National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Headquarters. Sendai, ville dévastée. Japanese Government Confirms Meltdown. Japanese high-energy physics facilities hit by the earthquake. Since Japanese friends and colleagues are major collaborators at CERN, the horrible news and pictures of the earthquake and tsunami come with added immediacy.
The situation is obviously very serious. The T2K neutrino experiment was just about to announce important new results when the earthquake struck. A series of planned seminars around the world has been postponed until the results can be announced first in Japan as planned. Here's a UK site with some background information about T2K itself. Apparently all the people from the neutrino experiment hall of T2K were evacuated safely, though it is very hard to confirm anything at the moment. The websites of the major high-energy physics labs, KEK and J-PARC, are currently offline, along with all email addresses of my colleagues there. Of course my thoughts, like those of many, are with those friends and colleagues affected, their families, and all victims of this disaster. Japan Scrambles to Avert Nuclear Meltdowns. La situation à Fukushima en images - international - toute l'actualité internationale.