Developments in Japan’s disasters, nuclear crisis

By The Associated Press
Posted: 03/25/2011 06:02:13 AM PDT

— DANGEROUS REACTOR BREACH SUSPECTED. Japanese nuclear authorities suspect the reactor core at one unit of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant was breached. That could mean a more significant radiation leak, and work at the plant was halted so levels could be checked.
—PRIME MINISTER CALLS NUCLEAR CRISIS ‘GRAVE AND SERIOUS.’ Naoto Kan also apologizes to farmers and businesspeople who are affected by the radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Several countries have halted food imports from areas near the complex because of fears of radiation.

— DISASTER DEATH TOLL TOPS 10,000. The National Police Agency also says more than 17,440 people are missing, though those totals may overlap. Hundreds of thousands of survivors are living in temporary shelters. Some 660,000 households do not have water and more than 209,000 do not have electricity.

— CHINA SAYS TWO JAPANESE TOURISTS TREATED. China says two Japanese tourists arriving in eastern China had radiation levels above normal and were given medical treatment. The government did not provide exact numbers, making it impossible to evaluate whether the finding contradicted Japan’s assessment of the situation at the nuclear power plant.

— HAWAII DAMAGE ESTIMATE EXCEEDS $30 MILLION. Hawaii disaster response officials estimate the state suffered damages exceeding $30 million from the tsunami that ripped across the Pacific. The state is expected to seek a federal disaster declaration.


AND THIS:
“While the mass media has all but dropped its interest in the Fukushima crisis to focus on Libya and meaningless side-issues like the death of Elizabeth Taylor, the nuclear nightmare only worsens, as Japanese authorities admit that reactor number 3, which is the only reactor to contain MOX plutonium, is now leaking.”

“Japan’s nuclear regulator said one reactor core at the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant may be cracked and leaking radiation,” reports Bloomberg. (source and more)

Detailed close-up aerial video of wrecked reactors at Fukushima