SENDAI, Japan, March 12, (Agencies): An explosion at a Japanese nuclear plant triggered fears of a meltdown Saturday after a massive earthquake and tsunami left more than 1,000 dead and at least 10,000 unaccounted for.
As workers doused the stricken reactor with sea water to try to avert catastrophe, Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the chaos unleashed by Friday’s 8.9 magnitude quake was an “unprecedented national disaster”.
The quake, one of the biggest ever recorded, unleashed a terrifying tsunami that engulfed towns and cities on Japan’s northeastern coast, destroying everything in its path.
In the small port town of Minamisanriku alone, some 10,000 people are unaccounted for — more than half the population — public broadcaster NHK reported.
Even as Japan struggled to assess the full extent of the devastation, the nation faced an atomic emergency as cooling systems damaged by the quake failed at two nuclear reactors.
Smoke billowed from the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant about 250 kms (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo, after an explosion blew off the roof and walls of the structure around the reactor.
Radiation leaked from the plant, but the government moved to calm fears of a meltdown, saying that the blast did not rupture the container surrounding the reactor and that radiation levels had fallen afterwards.

Japan’s nuclear safety agency rated the accident at four on the international scale of zero to seven. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States was rated five, while the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was a seven.
Work to bring the situation under control was ongoing, to prevent cooling liquid from evaporating and exposing the fuel rods to the air, which could trigger a major radiation leak.
“We have decided to douse the (reactor) container with sea water in order to reduce risks as quickly as possible,” Kan’s top spokesman Yukio Edano told reporters.
Kyodo and Jiji reported before the explosion that the plant “may be experiencing nuclear meltdown”, while NHK quoted the safety agency as saying metal tubes that contain uranium fuel may have melted.
An evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents was expanded to 20 kms (12 miles) around the Fukushima plant, and thousands more were shifted from another damaged plant, Fukushima No. 2.
Media reports said three residents — bedridden patients evacuated from a hospital near the plant — had been found to be exposed to radiation after spending a long time outdoors awaiting rescue.
The number of people exposed to radiation was expected to climb to at least 90, the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun newspapers said.

Takashi Fujimoto, vice president of nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, apologised for the accident, telling reporters: “We gave people a lot of trouble.”
Ron Chesser, director of the Center for Environmental Radiation Studies at Texas Tech University, said it was critical to cool the reactor core to avoid a meltdown that would result in “a large release of radiation”.
“Reactors are not like your car that you can turn off and walk away. They’re going to continue generating a great amount of heat until the core is disassembled,” he told the US-based ScienceDaily website.
The raging tsunami picked up shipping containers, cars and the debris of shattered homes. It crashed through the streets of Sendai and across open fields, forming a mud slick that covered vast tracts of land.
“There are so many people who lost their lives,” an elderly man told television reporters before breaking down in tears. “I have no words to say.”
Police reportedly said between 200 and 300 bodies had been found in the city of Sendai. Up to 400 bodies were recovered in Rikuzentakata, a coastal town of some 23,000 people, NHK quoted the military as saying.
The premier’s spokesman said at least 1,000 people were believed to have lost their lives. Police said more than 215,000 people were huddled in emergency shelters.

Kuwaitis
Kuwaiti citizens in Japan said Saturday that they were well and have not been harmed by the devastating quake that hit the northeastern and eastern parts of Japan.
In separate phone calls with (KUNA), the Kuwaiti citizens said they maintain contacts with the embassy of their country here to know how to deal with the developments and to ask it if they need anything. Student Hanan Al-Habr said she was at home in Tokyo when the quake struck and did not suffer from any injuries.
“I called my family in Kuwait immediately after the quake to assure them about my safety,” Al-Habr told (KUNA).
Student Ahmad Sultan, who lives in the western city of Okayama, reiterated the same reassuring tone.
Sultan said he was safe and that he has contacted the Kuwaiti embassy and apprised them off his condition.
“Kuwaitis living in Japan were trained on dealing with natural disasters, particularly quakes which are very common here,” he added.
Student Abdullah Salem, who lives with his family in Tokyo, affirmed his family safety, but referred to a state of panic in his family particularly among children.

Salem lauded the role played by the Kuwait embassy in the disaster time, noting it has contacted them to make sure they are safe and are not facing any danger.
The embassy has also provided all Kuwaitis living in Japan with the necessary information about who to deal with earthquakes, Salem noted.
Head of the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Tokyo office Waleed Abdul-Jalil said he was at work when the quake took place and has not been harmed.
He added that the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi and the embassy staff have called him to ask about his safety and if he needs any help.
KUNA has also contacted other Kuwaiti residents in Japan who also said that they are good and nothing bad has occurred to them.
They included Adel Abul-Jalil, Abeer Hassan, Jamail Dashti, Abdul-Jalil Al-Enzi and Taro Rada.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti ambassador affirmed that there were no causalities among Kuwaiti citizens in Japan so far.

Al-Otaibi said Kuwaiti citizens traveling in Japan are strongly encouraged to notify the embassy their whereabouts and contact numbers through the following phone numbers: 0081 224550361, 0081 334550362 and 0081 224550363 or the e-mail (Kuwait-embassy.or.jpinfo).

Japanese government hailed Saturday His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s orders for sending urgent relief aid to quake-hit areas in Japan via the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society. Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi told (KUNA) that the Japanese government welcomed HH the Amir’s initiative which is meant to alleviating the sufferings of victims.
Meanwhile, Al-Otaibi pointed out that he has contacted Kuwaiti residents in Japan following the quake to make sure they are safe and provided them with the instructions about what to do in emergencies. Al-Otaibi said there were no reports of injuries among Kuwaiti citizens in Japan so far.

“We have not received any reports of injuries among Kuwaiti citizens in Japan, including students, and I hope they are all safe and in good health,” Al-Otaibi told KUNA, adding that all Kuwaiti diplomats are safe. The ambassador said Kuwaiti citizens traveling in Japan are strongly encouraged to notify the embassy their whereabouts and contact numbers.
Kuwait, through its Red Crescent Society (KRCS), is ready to offer Japan with aid needed to overcome impacts of the devastating earthquake, KRCS’s Chairman Barjas Al-Barjas said Saturday.
In a statement to KUNA, Al-Barjas said that he called the Japanese Red Cross and offered help upon instructions of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to extend urgent humanitarian aid to help those affected by the quake.
He added that he also contacted Kuwait’s Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi in order to coordinate aid efforts.
Upon HH the Amir’s instructions, KRCS will be responsible for sending the humanitarian assistance.

Axis
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the earth’s axis shifted 25 cm as a result of the earthquake, and the US Geological Survey said the main island of Japan had shifted 2.4 metres.
The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kanto quake of Sept 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.
International search and rescue teams rushed to Japan Saturday in the wake of a huge 8.9-magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami, while one of Afghanistan’s most violent provinces offered $50,000 in aid.
A 66-strong Japanese team which has spent more than two weeks searching the rubble left by last month’s 6.3-magnitude quake in Christchurch in New Zealand was making hasty preparations to return home to confront the unfolding tragedy.

The United States said it was sending nearly 150 rescue workers to the disaster zone, among them a team from Los Angeles that had only returned from New Zealand two days ago.
From Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, to the Dalai Lama and entertainer Lady Gaga, the world has rallied to support Japan, where tsunami waves up to 10 metres (33 feet) high rolled across the low-lying northeast on Friday, washing away everything in their path.
Governments around the world offered their help, with United States President Barack Obama ordering emergency aid, including an aircraft carrier, to Japan after the catastrophe he described as “simply heartbreaking.”

The US Agency for International Development said it was sending two teams of some 72 personnel, dogs and around 75 tonnes of rescue equipment each.
Meanwhile China’s Red Cross also pledged 1 million yuan ($150,000) to its Japanese counterpart, state media reported.
With more than 1,000 people feared dead and authorities scrambling to prevent meltdown at two nuclear plants, Japanese officials have asked other nations to provide sniffer dogs to help search for trapped survivors.

Australia, South Korea and Singapore will all send dogs and search and rescue teams, their governments said Saturday as they expressed their condolences to Tokyo.
Britain will send a specialist team of search and rescue experts to Japan the government said.
Following a direct appeal from the Japanese government, Britain will dispatch a team of 59 fire service search and rescue specialists, two rescue dogs and a medical support team to join the international relief effort.
The team will take up to 11 tonnes of specialist rescue equipment, including heavy lifting and cutting equipment.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his government was “prepared to throw anything and everything at this”, as his country deployed 72 search and rescue experts.
India, which was hard hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said it stood in “full solidarity” with the people of Japan, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling his counterpart Naoto Kan “our resources are at your disposal.”

In a message to the Japanese prime minister the Dalai Lama, who has a huge following among Japanese Buddhists, expressed his “sadness” at the catastrophe and praised Japan’s high level of disaster preparedness for saving lives.
“On behalf of the residents of Kandahar, mayor Ghulam Haidar Hamidi announced $50,000 in aid to the people affected by earthquakes and tsunami in Japan,” a statement from Kandahar’s provincial governor said.
New Zealand, which had been helped by Japanese rescuers who sifted through Christchurch rubble for survivors, will send 48 urban search and rescue staff to the earthquake-zone — one-third of its search and rescue personnel.
The United Nations has said that about 60 international teams from more than 45 states were on alert to assist Japan if asked.

US
Tsunami waves from Japan’s huge quake have killed at least one person and sparked mass evacuations on the American continent, but failed to inflict major damage.
Surges of eight feet (2.4 meters) high crashed ashore on the coasts of California and Oregon Friday, up to 12 hours after the 8.9-magnitude quake triggered tsunami alerts in dozens of countries across the Pacific.
In California’s Del Norte County, a 25-year-old man was confirmed dead after being swept into the Pacific Ocean near the mouth of the Klamath River.
The man and two friends were taking photographs of the incoming tsunami waves.
“We have at least 35 boats that have been crushed. We have boats on top of other boats,” said Cindy Henderson, emergency services manager in Crescent City, 350 miles north of San Francisco.
The US Coast Guard added that there had also been damage to about six boats in a marina in Santa Cruz, further south, after they collided with each other due to the buffeting tsunami waves.
Santa Cruz port director Lisa Ekers estimated the damage at more than $10 million, according to CNN.

California’s governor Jerry Brown, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency in four of the state’s coastal counties — a procedure that unblocks federal funds to help with the clean-up.
Before reaching the US mainland the tidal waves hit Hawaii, which had been given only four hours to evacuate low-lying areas, sirens blared as locals and tourists scrambled to higher ground.
Many residents had already taken refuge in shelters, after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an ocean-wide alert for the giant waves along the West Coast, down through Central and South America as far as Antarctica.
Several hours later, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie said the tsunami warning had been downgraded to a tsunami advisory.
“Although we were fortunate that a more destructive tsunami did not materialize, I can assure everyone that our agencies and officials are well-prepared to respond to emergencies of this nature,” the governor said.
Canada also issued an alert for the north coast of British Columbia, warning it may “produce strong currents dangerous to those in or near the water.”

The tsunami warning came after the largest ever recorded earthquake in the Asian nation’s history, triggering walls of water which swamped the Japanese coastline and left hundreds of people dead.
The largest wave to crash ashore in Hawaii — some 4,000 miles (6,500 kms) from the epicenter of the quake — was measured as a 6-foot (1.8-meter) surge that hit Kahului on the island of Maui, officials said.
Geophysicist Gerard Fryer with the Pacific center said it was a “significant tsunami.” While no major damage was reported, waves had apparently been washing up about 100 feet (30 meters) inland on the Big Island.
The tsunami has caused a storm surge in the Galapagos islands but largely spared Latin America from major damage.
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said the surge may have affected some dwellings but “has not endangered human life.”

Chile, Ecuador and Peru ordered evacuations of coastal areas and Ecuador also halted oil shipments amid fears of rough seas.
Peruvian officials said the first wave of around 40 centimeters (15 inches) hit around 0050 GMT Saturday, after some coastal areas were evacuated.
President Alan Garcia said earlier he saw “no enormous danger” from the tsunami.
In Mexico, no casualties or damages were reported as waves up to 70 centimeters (2.2 feet) high arrived on coastal areas of Baja California.
In Central America, the force of the tidal wave was “not as strong as expected,” said Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Guatemala and Panama lifted their tsunami alerts and in El Salvador, the government said “the danger is past.”

US President Barack Obama said he was monitoring the tsunami threat to his home state of Hawaii and the US West Coast, and he phoned Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to offer condolences and US help.
“My understanding is that the main assistance that we’re going to be able to provide them is lift capacity: the ability for us to help in the cleanup,” Obama said.
The Pentagon said the US military was ready to provide emergency assistance to the victims in Japan, and especially to send ships with humanitarian aid to help.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it was sending a disaster response team along with two other search and rescue units, each comprising 72 people, sniffer dogs and 75 tons of rescue equipment.
Meanwhile, the USS Dubuque that was docked south of Los Angeles was ordered out into open water as a precautionary measure.
But the US Pacific Fleet command said it would not evacuate any personnel or sailing ships out of Pearl Harbor, on the southeastern side of Oahu Island, Hawaii.