A new fire has broken out in a troubled reactor of northeast Japan's quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says the new fire started early Wednesday in the same reactor ((Number 4)) that had been on fire the day before. Japanese television showed a huge cloud of white smoke rising from the stricken plant at mid-day Wednesday.
The government also reported damage to the protective container shielding another Fukushima reactor (Number 2). There have been explosions at two reactor locations inside the plant since the massive earthquake and tsunami damaged the facility on Friday.
Japan's government is trying to avert a major nuclear disaster from the crippled plant. About 200,000 of people have been evacuated from the area.
Authorities also are rushing doctors and emergency supplies to thousands of people left without food, water and shelter after the disaster.
Watch an explanation of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant (via NHK)
Japan's NHK television on Tuesday quoted government officials as saying that 3,000 are confirmed dead, but more than 10,000 are missing and feared dead.
The scale of the triple disaster is enormous. U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Stephanie Bunker told VOA Tuesday she has not seen a disaster quite like this before.
Images from Japan
Television pictures from hard-hit Sendai show people lined up for water and canned food, and some stores rationing food sales to 10 items per person. In other areas, the 100,000 personnel deployed by the government are attempting to rescue survivors stranded by the flood waters and mountains of debris.
Rescue crews still are struggling through debris-blocked roads to get to hundreds of thousands of people whose towns and villages were leveled by Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
The government says 15,000 people have been rescued and 450,000 have been evacuated nationwide.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says the new fire started early Wednesday in the same reactor ((Number 4)) that had been on fire the day before. Japanese television showed a huge cloud of white smoke rising from the stricken plant at mid-day Wednesday.
Listen to Les Carpenter speak with VOA's Steve Herman, who is reporting from Koriyama in the disaster region in northern Japan. |
The government also reported damage to the protective container shielding another Fukushima reactor (Number 2). There have been explosions at two reactor locations inside the plant since the massive earthquake and tsunami damaged the facility on Friday.
Japan's government is trying to avert a major nuclear disaster from the crippled plant. About 200,000 of people have been evacuated from the area.
Authorities also are rushing doctors and emergency supplies to thousands of people left without food, water and shelter after the disaster.
Watch an explanation of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant (via NHK)
Japan's NHK television on Tuesday quoted government officials as saying that 3,000 are confirmed dead, but more than 10,000 are missing and feared dead.
The scale of the triple disaster is enormous. U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Stephanie Bunker told VOA Tuesday she has not seen a disaster quite like this before.
Images from Japan
Television pictures from hard-hit Sendai show people lined up for water and canned food, and some stores rationing food sales to 10 items per person. In other areas, the 100,000 personnel deployed by the government are attempting to rescue survivors stranded by the flood waters and mountains of debris.
Rescue crews still are struggling through debris-blocked roads to get to hundreds of thousands of people whose towns and villages were leveled by Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
The government says 15,000 people have been rescued and 450,000 have been evacuated nationwide.
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