Nuclear worries compound depression of Japan survivors

The nuclear disaster in Japan has struck fear and disbelief into quake and tsunami survivors who can barely take in the idea that a third life-threatening disaster strength come their way.

Frantic efforts to prevent a unsafe radiation leak at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on the eastern coast have conquered global concerns in the wake of the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami last week.

On Friday, Japan's nuclear agency hiked the accident level to five from four on the international 0-7 scale of gravity for atomic accidents; an entrance the crisis had at least equalled the US Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

Some 200 kilometres (125 miles) to the north, those who lived through the quake and consequent tsunami that left nearly 7,000 confirmed dead have struggled to make sense of the news coming out of the Fukushima plant.

Traumatised, homeless and facing the scary task of rebuilding their crushed lives, few have been reassured by the official line that the situation is under control and that any leak would be so small as to carry a insignificant health risk.

"That radiation thing is extremely scary," said Hiromitsu Miyakawa, a retailer in Kesennuma, one of the towns that bore the full force of the tsunami along the northeast coast.

"It is beyond a tsunami. A tsunami you can see. But this you cannot see," Miyakawa said.

Helicopters and fire trucks have been used to deposit tonnes of water in a desperate effort to bring overheating at the plant's reactors and fuel storage tanks, known as repression pools, under control.

Japan has said emission levels from the plant, located 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo, pose no health threat outside a 20-kilometre barring zone.

In the small northeastern port of Miyako, Teeichi Sagama, the principal of a school converted into a tsunami evacuation centre, said he was upset with what he saw as the puzzling and contradictory statements coming from the authorities.

"I just want the government to tell the truth," he said. Taizo Tanisawa, who lost his home but volunteered to issue hot water and food to other survivors in Miyako, agreed that the government had been unclear in clearing up the dangers of the situation in Fukushina.

Major tsunami spoiled in N Japan after 8.9 quake

A magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot (4-meter) tsunami that cleared boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast, including one at an oil refinery.

At least one person was killed and there were reports of numerous injuries in Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) away, where buildings shook cruelly through the main quake and the wave of massive aftershocks that followed. A tsunami warning was issued for dozens of Pacific countries, as far away as Chile.

Japan's meteorological agency said that within two hours, large tsunamis washed ashore into dozens of cities along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) widen of the country's eastern shore — from the northern island of Hokkaido to central Wakayama prefecture.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the quake caused "major harm in broad areas" but nuclear power plants in the area were not precious. The government arranged to send troops to the quake-hit areas.

"This is a rare major quake, and damages could quickly rise by the minute," said Junichi Sawada, an official with Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

TV footage showed influences of muddy waters sweeping over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some on fire, inland as cars shot to drive away. Sendai airport, north of Tokyo, was busy with cars, trucks, buses and thick mud deposited over its runways. Fires increase through a section of the city, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The tsunami also roared over embankments in Sendai city, washing cars, houses and farm equipment inland before reversing directions and carrying them out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, possibly because of burst gas pipes.

Elsewhere, large fishing boats lay upturned on land, some distance from the sea. Officials were difficult to assess damage, injuries and deaths but had no immediate details. Police said at least one person was killed in a house crumple in Ibaraki prefecture, just northeast of Tokyo.

A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba area near Tokyo and was burning out of control with 100-foot (30 meter) -high flames whipping into the sky.

NHK showed copying of a large ship being swept away by the tsunami and ramming honestly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture.

In various locations along the coast, footage showed huge damage from the tsunami, with cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by waters. Partially flooded vehicles were seen bobbing in the water.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency exacts it at 8.4. It struck at 2:46 p.m. and was followed by 12 powerful aftershocks, seven of them at least 6.3, the size of the quake that struck New Zealand lately.

A tsunami advice was extended to a number of Pacific, Southeast Asian and Latin American nations, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities said they expect a 3-foot (1-meter) high tsunami.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.

In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers transferred into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba region of Tokyo.

Several nuclear plants along the coast were partly shut down, but there were no reports of any radioactive escape.

In central Tokyo, trains were blocked and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.
The ceiling in Kudan Kaikan, a large hall in Tokyo, collapsed, injuring an unknown number of people, NHK said.
Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit.
It sent bookshelves and computers booming to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls.
"I've been through many earthquakes, but I've never felt anything like this," he said. "I don't know if we'll be able to get home tonight."

Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees hesitant around and books and papers roaring from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo wholly smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being reassured by another woman.

Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 scale one on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes after the main quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard has set up a task force and officer is standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.

"I'm afraid we'll soon find out about damages, since the quake was so strong," he said.
In Tokyo, hundreds of people were evacuated from Shinjuku train station; the world's busiest, to a nearby park. Trains were halted.

Tokyo's main airport was closed. A large part of the ceiling at the 1-year-old airport at Ibaraki, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, fell to the floor with a powerful crash.

Dozens of fires were reported in northern prefectures of Fukushima, Sendai, Iwate and Ibaraki. Bent homes and landslides were also reported in Miyagi.

Japan's worst previous quake was in 1923 in Canto, which killed 143,000 people, according to USGS. An earthquake in Kobe city in 1996 killed 5,502 people.