Radiation leaking from Japan’s quake-hit nuclear

Radiation leaked from a damaged Japanese nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday, the government said, after an explosion blew the roof off the facility in the wake of a massive earthquake.

The developments raised fears of a meltdown at the plant as officials scrambled to contain what could be the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl explosion in 1986 that shocked the world.

The Japanese plant was damaged by Friday’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which sent a 10-meter (33-foot) tsunami ripping through towns and cities across the northeast coast. Japanese media estimate that at least 1,300 people were killed.

“We are looking into the cause and the situation and we’ll make that public when we have further information,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said after confirming the explosion and radiation leak at the plant.

Edano said an evacuation radius of 10 km (6 miles) from the stricken 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima prefecture was adequate, but an hour later the boundary was extended to 20 km (13 miles). TV footage showed vapor rising from the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Japonya’da felaket! 8.9 şiddetinde deprem ve 6 metrelik tsunami!

Japonya’da deprem ve tsunami! Japonya’nın kuzeyinde 8.9 büyüklüğünde deprem meydana geldi. Depremin ardından oluşan 6 metrelik tsunami araçları denize çekti!

Merkez üssü başkent Tokyo’ya 324 kilometre uzaklıkta olan depremin yer yüzüne çok yakın olduğu belirtiliyor. Deprem Tokyo’da bile şiddetli bir şekilde hissedildi. Yetkililerin yaptığı tsunami alarmıyla başkent Tokyo da dahil olmak üzere yüzbinlerce kişi yollara düşerken tsunami gecikmedi. Yaklaşık 6 metrelik dalgalar oluşturan tsunami sonrasında yüzlerce araç denize çekildi. Ülkenin sahil kesimlerinde araçlar denizde yüzerken ölü ve yaralı sayısı hakkında henüz bir bilgi gelmedi. Depremin merkez üssünden ise hiçbir haber alınamıyor. Japonya kaygıyla gelişmeleri izlerken uzmanlar bu şiddetteki bir depremin artçılarının da en az 6-7 şiddetinde olacağını öngörüyor.

World sends disaster relief teams to Japan

The international community started to send disaster relief teams on Saturday to help Japan after it suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami, with the United Nations sending a group to help co-ordinate work.

“We are in the process of deploying 9 experts who are among the most experienced we have for dealing with catastrophes. They will help evaluate needs and coordinate assistance with Japanese authorities,” Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Reuters.

The team of U.N. disaster relief officials includes several Japanese speakers and an environmental expert, she said.

An explosion blew the roof off an unstable nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday, raising fears of a disastrous meltdown.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said there had been a radiation leak at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake — the strongest recorded in Japan — sent a 10-meter (33-foot) high tsunami ripping through towns and cities across the northeast coast on Friday. Japanese media estimate that at least 1,300 people were killed.