Half a million people have been made homeless by the devastating quake Fire has again broken out at the quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan.
The blaze has struck reactor four, where spent fuel rods are kept. The plant has already been hit by four explosions, triggering radiation leaks and sparking health concerns.Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake damaged the plant's cooling functions.
More than 3,300 have been confirmed dead and thousands are missing after the quake and tsunami last Friday.
Officials have warned people within 20-30km (12-19 miles) of the site to either leave the area or stay indoors.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which operates the Fukushima plant, said on Wednesday that efforts were under way to put out the latest fire.
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On the surface, Tokyo is still deceptively normal.
But look a bit closer and the concern people are feeling here about radiation leaks is clear.
There are fewer cars on the streets than normal. There are queues, an hour long and more, for petrol. Shelves are bare in some shops as people buy up food.
Tokyo's stock market has seen two days of heavy losses.
Foreigners have been leaving in increasing numbers. Adding to the jitters just as people were going to bed on Tuesday night there was another tremor, this time a bit larger, and longer than before.
But most people remained inside their homes and went to sleep.
At the scene
But look a bit closer and the concern people are feeling here about radiation leaks is clear.
There are fewer cars on the streets than normal. There are queues, an hour long and more, for petrol. Shelves are bare in some shops as people buy up food.
Tokyo's stock market has seen two days of heavy losses.
Foreigners have been leaving in increasing numbers. Adding to the jitters just as people were going to bed on Tuesday night there was another tremor, this time a bit larger, and longer than before.
But most people remained inside their homes and went to sleep.
Officials later said it was under control. It is the second fire to hit the spent fuel storage pond at reactor four in 24 hours.
The reactor had been shut down before the quake for maintenance, but its spent fuel rods were still stored on the site.Kyodo news agency says the storage pool may be boiling and further radiation leaks are feared.
Tepco said it may pour water and fire retardant from helicopters to stop fuel rods from being exposed to the air and releasing even more radioactivity.
The crisis at the plant - which contains six nuclear reactors - began when the earthquake struck. Explosions rocked the buildings housing reactors one and three on Saturday and Monday.
On Tuesday morning, a third blast hit the building of reactor two, while a fourth damaged the building of reactor four.
Officials said the explosions at the first three reactors, and possibly the fourth as well, were caused by a buildup of hydrogen.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said cooling seawater was being pumped into reactors one and three - which were returning to normal - and into reactor two, which remained unstable.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said earlier it suspected the blast may have damaged reactor two's suppression chamber, which would have allowed radioactive steam to escape.
Health hazard After Tuesday's explosions and fire, radiation dosages of up to 400 millisieverts per hour were recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi site, about 250km north-east of Tokyo.
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RADIATION AND CANCER
- Experts say even small radiation doses, as low as 100 millisieverts, can slightly raise cancer risk
- Exposure to 1,000 millisieverts is estimated to increase risk of fatal cancer by about 5%
- Leukaemia, a bone marrow cancer, is the most common radiation-induced cancer
- Others include cancer of lung, skin, thyroid, breast and stomach; can take years to develop
- Half of those exposed to between 4,000-5,000 millisieverts die in a month
A single dose of 1,000 millisieverts causes temporary radiation sickness such as nausea and vomiting.
Later, a reading of 0.6 millisieverts (mSv) per hour was recorded at the plant's main gate, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.Japan has also announced a 30-km no-fly zone around the site to prevent planes spreading the radiation further afield.
Three other nuclear power plants shut down automatically during Friday's earthquake.
The loss of so much generating capacity in one blow has meant rolling blackouts have had to imposed on parts of the country.
The repeated releases of different amounts of radiation - some large, some small - are unnerving the Japanese and their neighbours, who want reassurances that the situation will soon be brought under control, says the BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo.
US President Barack Obama defended nuclear power as an important source of energy, despite new questions raised about its safety.
In a television interview on Tuesday, he said he was "deeply worried" about radiations leaks in Japan, but added: "The nuclear facilities that we have here are closely monitored... I do think that it is important for us to think through constantly how we improve nuclear technologies to deal with additional safety concerns that people have."
On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei index rose 6% in early trading on Wednesday, after plummeting 20% over the previous two days.
More than 500,000 people have been made homeless by the quake. The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort.
The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to warn against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and north-eastern Japan. British nationals and friends and relatives of those in Japan can contact the Foreign Office on +44(0) 20 7008 0000.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12754883