Peter Rolfe and Samantha Maiden From: AFP March 12, 2011 12:00AM
The Fukushima No. 1 power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. Source: AP
UPDATE 11.45pm: A NUCLEAR power plant exploded, a day after the huge Japanese earthquake damaged the facility's cooling system.
Nuclear authorities had earlier warned that the Fukushima No.1 plant, about 250km northeast of Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people, "may be experiencing a nuclear meltdown".
The plant's cooling system was damaged in the quake that hit on Friday, leaving the government scrambling to fix the problem and evacuate more than 45,000 residents within a 10km radius.
The operator of a stricken nuclear plant, TEPCO, believed a reactor container was not damaged despite a large explosion at the plant, Japan's chief cabinet secretary said.
Japan's government says the metal container sheltering a nuclear reactor was not affected by an explosion that destroyed the building it's in.
Government spokesman Yukio Edano says the radiation around the plant did not rise after the blast, but instead is decreasing. He added that pressure in the reactor is also decreasing.
Pressure and heat have been building at the nuclear reactor since an earthquake and tsunami on Friday caused its cooling system to fail.
An explosion on Saturday blew out the walls of the building housing the reactor. The government has ordered people within a 20km radius of the plant in Fukushima to evacuate the area.
Mr Edano added that radiation levels near the Fukushima plant had fallen after the blast, amid fears of a possible nuclear meltdown following a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that a blast had been heard at about 5.30pm (Melbourne time) and showed delayed footage of the explosion and smoke billowing from the site, also reporting that the reactor building had been destroyed.
TV channels warned nearby residents to stay indoors, turn off airconditioners and not to drink tap water. People going outside were also told to avoid exposing their skin and to cover their faces with masks and wet towels.
Meanwhile thousands are feared dead as Japan continues to reel from Friday's horror earthquake and tsunami.
There are concerns for the safety of at least 160 Australians in the worst-hit areas of Japan.
The powerful quake that unleashed a devastating tsunami appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 2.4m and shifted the Earth on its axis, earthquake experts say.
Emergency crews began searching for survivors of the 8.9 magnitude "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami that washed away entire villages, cars and bridges, set oil refineries on fire and had several nuclear power plants on alert on the Pacific coast.
Rescuers continued to dig through rubble and pluck survivors of the quake - 8000 times stronger than the one that crippled Christchurch last month - from the roofs of submerged houses.
There were fears for the safety of Australians living near the epicentre of the quake at Sendai, 405km north of Tokyo, a popular area for Aussies working as English-language teachers and translators.
The regions of Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, Ibraki and Aomori were worst affected. Police in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, said 300 bodies had been found on the shore.
The Japanese defence ministry said 1800 homes in Minami Soma, Fukushima prefecture, were destroyed. In Sendai, 1200 houses were toppled by the tsunami.
Aftershocks continued to rock the country, including a strong 6.8 magnitude quake that hit 174km southeast of Sendai. At 4pm, the official death toll stood at 613 with 784 missing, but the full death toll was expected to be in the thousands.
The Japanese Government mobilised 50,000 military and rescue personnel to spearhead a Herculean rescue and recovery effort.
About 5.6 million households had no power and more than a million households were without water.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned that day one after the catastrophe was a crucial window for survivors.
"What used to be residential areas were mostly swept away in many coastal areas, and fires are still blazing," he said.
The tsunami that drowned hundreds in northeast Japan mostly spared other countries around the Pacific Rim.
The huge earthquake triggered a domino effect of tremors and tsunamis around the Pacific, including in Hawaii, Tonga and California. Waves of up to 4m and travelling at jet speed rolled into Hawaii and caused damage to piers, marinas and some flooding.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Tonga, but no major damage was reported.
Several supermarkets reported running out of food in Tokyo as locals rushed to get essential items.
Zuji travel managing director James Gaskell said 32 Australians had travelled with the company to Japan in recent days, most to the major cities of Tokyo and Osaka.
"We're trying to contact them to see if they need help and that they are OK but there is not much information available," he said
- with Aleks Devic, Jon Kaila and agencies
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