Exodus from Japan nuclear plant

An estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated from the area around a quake-damaged nuclear power station in north-east Japan that was hit by an explosion, the UN atomic watchdog says.

A building housing a reactor was destroyed in Saturday's blast at the Fukushima No.1 plant.
The authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.
Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami is believed to have left more than 1,000 people dead.
The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a meltdown at Fukushima No.1, saying that radiation levels around the stricken plant have now fallen.

But on Sunday morning, concerns were raised about the safety of a second reactor at the plant after operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said the cooling system of another reactor had failed.

Since Friday's earthquake, radioactive air and steam has been released from several reactors at both Fukushima No.1 and No.2 plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside. Sea water and boron is being pumped into the site to lower temperatures.
Tepco said four of its workers were injured in Saturday's explosion, but that their injuries were not life-threatening. The Japanese government doubled the size of the evacuation zone around No.1 plant to 20km (12.4 miles) after the blast.
Reuters news agency quotes a Japanese nuclear safety agency official as saying that tests indicate that at least nine people have been exposed to radiation from the plant, and local authority estimates suggest this figure could rise as high as 160.
The government has urged local people to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected.
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement: "In the 20-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daiichi (No.1), an estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated.
"In the 10-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daini (No.2) an estimated 30,000 people have been evacuated. Full evacuation measures have not been completed."
Scenes of devastation
The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages. Powerful aftershocks are continuing to hit the region.
The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in the coastal city of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture, says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing - giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, and fires are still burning close to the harbour.
Police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found in just one ward of the city.
The town of Rikuzentakada, Iwate prefecture, was reported as largely destroyed and almost completely submerged. NHK reported that soldiers had found up to 400 bodies there.
NHK reports that in the port of Minamisanriku, Miyagi, the authorities say that about 7,500 people were evacuated to 25 shelters after Friday's quake but they have been unable to contact the town's other 10,000 inhabitants.
A local official in the town of Futaba, Fukushima, said more than 90% of the houses in three coastal communities had been washed away by the tsunami.

 

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his four-ton rig when the wave hit Sendai. "Smaller cars were being swept around me. All I could do was sit in my truck."
Tens of thousands of troops backed by ships and helicopters have been deployed on rescue and relief missions. More than 215,000 people are said to be living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures.
International disaster relief teams are being sent to Japan, with the UN helping to co-ordinate the operation.
President Barack Obama has pledged US assistance. One US aircraft carrier that was already in Japan will help with rescue and relief efforts, and a second is on its way.
Japan's worst previous earthquake was of 8.3 magnitude and killed 143,000 people in Kanto in 1923. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.
@'BBC'