Once upon a time, there was one girl living in a big castle. she was very pretty. She has a big eyes, long black thick hair, thick eyebrows. Tall & slim. She was close to perfect. But unfortunately she didn’t happy. Well, very happy before the big accident. she was adopted by a rich family. They loved her so much, until one day when the family were going on vacation, they had a big accident, the plane crashed. She was the only one who lived. What a miracle. Her attitude what was very down to earth and low-profile felt like that her house was definitely too big for her, she lived alone there. even the maids and soldiers were still live there. But the kingdom wasn’t going well as it used to be. Well, she can’t conquer the country, until she thought she might better walked out from her huge luxurious castle. “I rather run away! I just don’t belong here!” she said.
The moment she packed her bags & her clothes. Some guy came to her room. He told her that he was her guardian. She just cant believe that. “what are you? I dont have any money! I can’t pay you!” “what?! You are not going to pay me! Your parents planned this, they knew that their age were not longer anymore. So one day they came to me and wanted me to be your guardian” “sorry! I don’t believe you” she said frankly. Then she ran & slapped her door. The guy ran afterward her. he told that it was true. He came to the world to company her. to be with her.He sent to be her guardian. The girl still didnt trust him. “where are you going anyway? You have nobody right? So you decide to run away? Hey the world is not safe for you, princess!” “I dont care, i just dont belong here, it is too much for me” “trust you’ll be safe here. I’ll try to protect you as much as i could. Please stay here...” she cried. She felt like so empty. She thought that if her step parents still alive. She wouldn’t through all of this. The guy said “it might be hard from you. But trust me, i’ll help you. It is my duty to stay here!” and the princess said “okay. With one condition, do not ever try to lie to me about this” “i will not, your majesty”
Day after day. He still tried to convince her. served her foods. Made her bed. Companied her everyday. One day, the princess felt happy again. She felt like she can smile again. The guy. The guy was very funny & smart, attractive. He made her complete again. Until one time, the princess said “You are my Guardian Angel...”
We all know about what has happened in Japan. A tragic lost of our loved ones. A maximum cost that has been caused by the Earthquake and Tsunami. Japan is a developed country, and many of us has knowledge about Japan, their culture and tradition. Some of us even knows how to speak in their Language. There's also a few of Indonesia's citizen who lives there.
When we turn on the tv, when we turn pages of news paper, the headlines are full of Japan. When we see the videos, the pictures, we cant help but held our breath and pray to God. Pray so God will protect the people there, give them strength, and save whats left.
Maybe the tragedi only happens in minutes, but the aftercost, the effects thats been left of the disaster. The nuclear leak, the nuclear exposure. The damage to the country, it has cost more than we can imagine. Tsunami has happened in Indonesia before, in Aceh to be exact. Seeing other country has to deal with it too, breaks my heart. Because most of us, Indonesian citizen knows how it feels to face such thing.
But not all Indonesian Citizen has done such thing to help. Maybe some already helped. But if we know how they felt, how come we dont do something right away? something to ease their pain. Lets just pray for the best. Try to help in every possible way.
Good morning. There is news just coming from Japan that a surge in radiation at the Fukushima power plant mean workers were unable to continue even minimal efforts to work there.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has said that work on dousing reactors with water was disrupted when workers were forced to withdraw after radiation levels surged early in the day. This follows reports that a white plume of smoke has been seen rising from the crippled nuclear plant's No 3 reactor. In this screenshot from Japan's NHK television, the No 4 unit of the Fukushima Daiichi complex is seen damaged on 15 March. Photograph: AP
Japan's nuclear nightmare continues, as the situation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant remains grave and the latest developments within the crippled reactors show a further deterioration.
Here is a round-up of the latest news: • Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano announced that the containment vessel of the Fukushima Daiichi No 3 reactor is thought to have been severely damaged and may have leaked radioactive steam, emitting high-level radiation. • Japan's nuclear safety agency required Fukushima plant workers to evacuate the site due to high radiation levels, but the government later upped the legal radiation exposure level, allowing work to continue inside the plant. • Smoke was seen rising from the No 3 reactor from the early hours of Wednesday morning. • The No 4 reactor remains a source of major concern, with gaping holes in the reactor's outer building and another fire within the reactor was spotted at 5.45am JST that may have lasted half an hour. The reactor's internal temperature rose to 84C as cooling remained difficult. • Japan's central bank has injected a further $40bn into the financial markets, meaning that the Bank of Japan has added nearly $330bn in liquidity in the last three days. The Nikkei stock exchange has rebounded a little as manufacturing companies announce the resumption of production.
More bad news: Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the radiation level at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reached 10 millisievert per hour at one point on Wednesday morning, possibly due to the damage at its No 2 reactor the day before, the government's nuclear safety agency said.
The maximum level was measured at the plant's front gate at 10:40am. It fell to 6.4 millisievert at 10:45am and to 2.3 millisievert at 10:54am but rose again to about 3.4 millisievert at 11am according to Kyodo
To make sense of all this, it appears that reactor no 4 was badly damaged by the hydrogen explosions in nearby reactors, and it is possible that the unit's water level has disappeared entirely.
Tepco said that water in a pool storing the spent fuel rods may be boiling and that its level may have dropped, exposing the rods. The government ordered the firm to inject water into the pool ''as soon as possible to avert a major nuclear disaster.'' Due to high radiation levels at the reactor, workers have been unable to pour water into the troubled pool.
Japan's health ministry announced the rise in the legal radiation exposure limit because workers could no longer get close enough to the Fukushima Daiichi No 4 reactor for urgent attempts to repair the reactor's cooling system.
The ministry raised the level two and a half times, to 250 millseiverts. Earlier, Kyodo news agency said 730 out of a total of 800 workers had been evacuated from the site. "The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now," chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference. "Because of the radiation risk we are on standby."
This is Tania Branigan in Beijing taking over from Richard
A quick update on casualties from the earthquake and tsunami: the national police agency is saying that 3,676 deaths are confirmed and 7,845 people are registered as unaccounted for. But Japanese media have pointed out that many bodies have been found but not identified. The Guardian's Jonathan Watts has reported from Ishinomaki on how authorities are struggling to deal with the dead and are now contemplating mass burials.
Seoul's Yonhap news agency is reporting that South Korea will send part of its reserve of boric acid - used to slow down fission reactions - to its neighbour. Japan has used up most of its own stockpile to try to cool down the reactor cores.
A colleague points out that Couchsurfing has set up a site for people displaced by the disasters. People are offering space in Hiroshima, Osaka, Yokohama and numerous other cities.
More from Fukushima: Reuters is reporting that authorities plan to bulldoze an emergency route to crippled reactor No.4 to allow access for fire trucks, although it appears this morning's blaze is now out. The unit was not operating when the earthquake hit but was storing spent fuel rods.
Kyodo says that workers the facility have been unable to pour water into the pool containing the spent fuel rods because of high radiation levels. Tepco, the plant's operators, are considering spraying the reactor with boric acid from overhead, warning: ''The possibility of recriticality is not zero". Kyodo has just flashed up a statement that winds are preventing Self Defence Force helicopters from dousing it with water, citing an unnamed minister.
There's a lot of concern about the conditions survivors face. NHK are reporting snow in Miyagi prefecture and the Japanese meteorological agency predicts snow in Iwate today with heavier falls tomorrow. Across the disaster zone, temperatures will drop as low as -5C overnight.
The government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, has asked the public not to panic-buy fuel, warning: ''The supply situation for fuel such as gasoline, heavy oil and light oil is worsening in the quake-hit areas." The defence ministry has announced it is sharing some of its reserves, but needs to hold some back to avoid disrupting the rescue operations. Private enterprises are offering help but Kyodo reports that the Japan Business Federation's chairman said the government needs a stronger command centre to channel assistance.
Indonesia’s third richest family has donated S$1 million ($783,000) to the Japanese government as it attempts to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The Indonesian government also donated $2 million, Kyodo reported.
The Tokyo-based news agency reported that Elaine Low, 24, daughter of Low Tuck Kwong, owner of Bayan Resources, gave the Japanese Ambassador in Singapore Yoichi Suzuki a check for S$1 million.
The family has a reported wealth of $3.6 billion.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, speaking during an interview with Japanese media, said the government’s donation would be delivered to visiting Japanese parliamentary deputy minister for foreign affairs Makiko Kikuta on Wednesday.
‘’I will be announcing later this afternoon a modest, but at the same time, genuine contribution of financial support of US$2 million to the emergency relief efforts in Japan,’’ Natalegawa was quote by Kyodo as saying.
‘’It is a modest amount, but it is meant to reflect how genuinely we feel in having solidarity with Japan in their hour of need,’’ he said.
They withstood Japan's earthquake, tsunami and radiation terrors. But after nine days without heat, electricity, running water, regular meals or word from their loved ones, there are signs that the extraordinary fortitude of the survivors is being worn down by a widening humanitarian crisis.
Officials in Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture, one of the coastal cities wrecked by the tsunami, say the shortages and a painfully slow return of services has led to rising anger at the government and sporadic reports of theft and violent crime.
"It's only natural that people get frustrated," said Yoshinori Sato, a spokesman for the city council. "It's because of the stress. People are hungry and frustrated. I've heard about people screaming and fighting over food."
There have been instances of looting at supermarkets and liquor stores. Sato had also heard reports about a stabbing and a rape in the town. "In some cases there were houses that were half-destroyed, and people would go in and look for anything they could find to use or to eat," he said.
"I feel sorry for them but a crime is a crime."
The humanitarian crisis is eroding confidence that Japan – for all its wealth and technological brilliance – is capable of managing a relief effort of such enormous proportions.
The numbers are daunting. The official death toll nationally rose to 8,277 on Sunday night, with 12,272 still missing. Nearly 500,000 people are homeless. More than 1.5 million households have no running water.
In the first terrifying hours after the tsunami, a quarter of Ishinomaki's population of 160,000 were displaced. About 1,000 are confirmed dead, and many more are missing. But because roads and communications were cut, it took the authorities two or three days longer to realise the extent of the destruction.
In the large pink local government building in central Ishinomaki, officials are doing what they can to keep people's spirits up. Sato has started to put out a daily news update to give people at least some sense of control over their life.
He's even invented a slogan for the morale-boosting effort, which translates as "Onward Ishinomaki".
Sato punches his fist in the air for the delivery. But he is in tears, and he acknowledges it is going to take much too long before the people of Ishinomaki see any real improvement.
Neighbouring towns are already getting electricity, kerosene or gas. But Sato just heard the authorities will be unable to restore gas connections for at least three weeks.
In Minato neighbourhood, which was cut off from the centre when a fishing trawler was upended on a bridge, the 500 evacuees sheltering in an elementary school did not get hot food until Saturday night.
A simple meal of rice, vegetables and miso soup, it was provided by volunteers from a camping enthusiasts' organisation – not the Japanese government. But as barber Katsuhiro Suzuki said: "Compared to the first days we were here, this is heaven."
The evacuees had no food or water for the first three days in the shelter, a state elementary school. Then they graduated to meals made up of a single rice ball or a banana – which they were occasionally directed to share. More food is beginning to arrive, but the shelter now has to stretch to feed the entire neighbourhood of 2,300.
"I've seen people fighting over a biscuit," said Eda Matsumi, who fled here with her three-year-old daughter.
There was still no heat, electricity or running water in the toilets on Sunday. Workers continued to scrape at a thick layer of mud over the ground floor. The cemetery at the back of the school now has the carcasses of cars dotted among the urns.
Nightfall, without electricity or a fully functioning police force, brings its own terrors.
"Of course when night falls it is very dark," said Shoji Yoshiaki, a councillor, who is overseeing the shelter. "I'm worried about the tension. People are stressed out.
"We got hit very badly and the recovery effort is lagging. A kilometre or two away, they have electricity, food, water, gas – everything – but here there is nothing."
Several evacuees, as well as people still living in the rubble of their homes, reported that a burglar had been stabbed during a robbery. There were also reports of a sexual assault. Their accounts could not be confirmed as the local police post has been destroyed. But the sense of fear is real.
Suzuki was burgled while he was in the house. The barber had gone back to pick up some belongings and check on the family shrine. In the short time he was there, a thief climbed up the ladder through which Suzuki entered his home and made off with his bank card and cheque book.
"I totally lost trust in everyone," Suzuki said. "My sense of trust is as badly destroyed as this landscape."
He is convinced, though, that the thieves had to be from outside the neighbourhood. "I was born and raised here and grew up here," he said. "I know everyone here."
Those bonds are what have sustained people since the tsunami: sharing food and water, and whatever warm clothes they can salvage from their homes. But as time goes on, those bonds are becoming more fragile and they only stretch so far.
"In this school everybody helps each other and it is great, but when we go outside that is when I am afraid," Matsumi said.
Matsumi's home – or what remains of it – is just across the street from the shelter, but she is afraid to go there alone to try to salvage her belongings. "When I have to go to my house, I get somebody to watch me from the window. Even then I run to get what I need. I don't want to stay there for too long," she said.
"I survived this earthquake and tsunami and I'm still alive. I can't die now because of some criminal out there."
At 0546 GMT (1446 in Japan) a massive earthquake, 8.9 on the Richter scale, unleashes a huge tsunami which crashes through Japan's eastern coastline, sweeping buildings, boats, cars and people miles inland.
In Tokyo - hundreds of miles from the quake - large buildings shake violently and workers scramble into the streets for safety.
More than 50 aftershocks follow - seven at least 6.3 on the Richter scale, the size of the quake which struck New Zealand on February 22.
Sendai airport, north of Tokyo, is inundated with cars, trucks and buses and thick mud cover its runways.
A large fire erupts at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city near Tokyo and burns out of control, with 100ft flames whipping into the sky.
Related Articles
* Japan earthquake: as it happened Mar 19
19 Mar 2011
The UK Foreign Office sets up a crisis centre to co-ordinate Britain's response and offer advice to anyone concerned about relatives or friends in Japan.
The Government's Cobra emergency response committee convenes to discuss Britain's response. Britain is poised to give whatever help is needed.
The afternoon sees the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh extend their sympathy to the people of Japan and Emperor Akihito, expressing their sadness at the "tragic loss of life".
A "state of emergency" is declared at one of the country's nuclear power plants after the Fukushima reactor, around 30 miles inland from the north east coast, suffers a cooling system failure. Around 3,000 people are evacuated from a 6.2-mile exclusion zone.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall send a message of condolence and support.
The evening sees confirmation of hundreds of dead.
• Saturday March 12
Japan's government launches a massive rescue mission mobilising thousands of troops, 300 planes and 40 ships amid fears more than a thousand people have died.
US military vessels and aircraft carriers are sent, along with relief teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
Japan requests help from the UK.
There is an explosion at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
Operators at the plant's Unit 1 detect eight times the normal radiation levels outside and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.
A team of UK search and rescue specialists and medics flies out.
Japan's government spokesman says the explosion that tore through the nuclear plant did not affect the reactor.
The death toll rises to at least 1,300 dead but thousands more are missing - including 10,000 from the coastal town of Minamisanriku.
More than 215,000 people are living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures, or states, the national police agency says.
More than one million households have no water. Four million buildings are without power.
• Sunday March 13
Japan's nuclear safety agency says the cooling system of a third nuclear reactor at Fukushima has failed - experts constantly monitor levels of radioactivity in the quarantined area.
The British embassy in Tokyo has a "long list" of people who are unaccounted for.
Around 170,000 people have been evacuated from a 12-mile radius around the Fukushima number one nuclear plant.
A government spokesman says the blast destroyed a building which housed a nuclear reactor, but the reactor escaped unscathed.
The Japanese government doubles the number of troops pressed into rescue and recovery operations to about 100,000.
Save The Children launches an appeal to raise £1 million for Japan's youngsters.
The Foreign Office receives more than 3,200 calls from concerned friends and relatives.
Prime minister Naoto Kan appeals to Japanese citizens to unite in overcoming what he says is the country's worst crisis since the Second World War.
Nuclear plant operators try to keep temperatures down in a series of reactors.
Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano warns a hydrogen explosion could occur at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex - the latest reactor to face a possible meltdown.
Mr Edano says the radiation released into the environment so far is so small it does not pose any health threats.
Japan's nuclear agency says up to 160 people were taken to hospital after possibly being exposed to radiation while waiting to be evacuated.
It emerges around 17,000 British nationals were believed to be in Japan at the time of the quake.
Seismologists say the quake - one of the largest recorded - was actually 9.0 rather 8.9 on the Richter scale.
• Monday March 14
A second hydrogen explosion is reported, this time at the unit 3 reactor at the Fukushima plant. Six people are injured.
The British Embassy in Tokyo is bolstered with extra staff flown in from across Asia, London and the Americas to help search hospitals for survivors in the worst-hit areas.
Japanese stocks nosedive as the huge cost of the disaster fuels fears about the country's economy.
The Bank of Japan moves to stabilise markets by injecting a record 15 trillion yen (£114.4 billion) into money markets.
Fears of a major slowdown in the world's third-largest economy spark a huge slump in Japanese shares, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closing more than 6% lower and some of the world's biggest firms, such as Toshiba, Toyota and Honda, sustaining heavy share price losses.
Environmental campaigners call for a rethink of plans for new nuclear power stations in the UK.
Prime Minister David Cameron tells the Commons there are "severe concerns" for Britons still missing four days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.
• Tuesday March 15
Dangerous levels of radiation leak from the Fukushima plant after a third explosion, believed to be in the number 2 reactor, and a fire, rock the complex.
In an televised statement after the blast, prime minister Kan urges those within 19 miles of the area to stay indoors.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett insisted yesterday that there was a silver lining to the earthquake and tsunami disasters that have devastated Japan.
The 80-year-old ‘Sage of Omaha’ said the carnage may have created a ‘buying opportunity'.
Rather than focusing on the decimation in the aftermath of the March 11 quake, Buffet predicted the Japanese would rebound and that a new bout of stock buying could quickly set the country’s economy back on its feet.
He said: 'I’m not looking at Japan’s economic future differently from ten days ago – extraordinary events offer a buying opportunity.
Buffet, one of the world’s richest men, was speaking in South Korea, where he was attending the ground-breaking ceremony for a metalworking company.
Japan’s Nikkei index lost about 10 per cent in the week following the disaster as workers struggled to contain the fallout from a nuclear reactor leak.
But Buffet urged investors not to sell off Japanese stock.
He said the 9/11 attacks 'didn't change the future of the US or the economic prospect of the US.
‘I feel exactly the same way after what's happened in Japan. People in Japan have the same energy, they have the same desire to move on and the same resources to rebuild.
Timeline of events plotted against movements in Japan's Nikkei 225 a few days after the earthquake once reports of radiation leaks were announced
It will take some time to rebuild, but it will not change the economic future of Japan. If I owned Japanese stocks, I would certainly not be selling them.
His remarks came after the World Bank said the disaster that left at least 8,649 people dead and 13,262 missing could cost Japan up to $235billion.
Car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota and Nissan all indicated today that most of their operations would remain closed this week.
Cannon, the world’s biggest digital camera manufacturer, has also closed its three Japanese factories.
Buffet was originally scheduled to visit Japan but ended up going to Daegu, South Korea instead.
Unbowed by America’s sluggish recovery from the economic recession, he said he was looking to make another big acquisition in the near future.
He said: 'We're looking at a number of big businesses in Korea, the U.S., the UK.
We hope to find good companies wherever they may be. Basically, it's the bigger, the better.'
Buffett is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and is famous for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.
Known for his shrewd investments, he was ranked the globe’s third wealthiest person this year.
The strongest recorded earthquake to hit Japan, measured at 8.9 on the Richter scale by the US Geological Survey, struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo, today, 11th March, at 1446 local time (0546 GMT). Estimated to have occurred at a relatively shallow depth between 10 to 20km, the main brunt of the tremor (map and videos) hit the Northeast coast of the main island of Honshu, approximately 130Km (80 miles) east of the port city of Sendai, where it is reported that police have already found between 200 to 300 bodies.
Sendai will be known by many Nikon photographers: it is the location of the Nikon Sendai Corporation manufacturing plant, where currently the D3s, D3x and D700 cameras are made, along with many other component parts, both mechanical and electronic, for other Nikon D-SLR models. Furthermore, the plant will probably be preparing production lines for the highly anticipated replacements to the D700 and D3-series models, which are expected to be announced later this year.
According to news reports Sendai airport, which is not far from the Nikon plant, suffered extensive flooding as a result of the 10m (30 foot)-high tsunami wave that hit the nearby coast. Some initial reports have suggested that the Nikon plant was not affected to any significant degree; however, I have been in touch with staff at Nikon who work in offices in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo, many of whom remain at their desks although it is now the middle of the night, since after shocks are still affecting the city and it is not safe to travel, plus virtually all public transport has been suspended; thankfully, there are no reports of any casualties among them. Apparently they have not received any definitive reports about the situation at Nikon Sendai, nor the Nikkor lens factory at Tochigi, which is about midway between Tokyo and Sendai. There will almost certainly be consequences for Nikon Sendai, which will affect its staff, and camera production, regardless of whether it was hit directly by flooding, or the effects of the earthquake, and likewise with Nikon Tochigi.
Another large earthquake, measured with a magnitude of 6.6, has struck in the Nagano prefecture, which in the central region of Honshu Island, early this morning local time in Japan. Currently, there are tsunami warnings for virtually all of the Eastern coast of Honshu and much of Hokkaido Island, which lies to the north.
At this time we can only offer out sympathy and support to all those people who have been affected by this devastating natural disaster.
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on Friday. Adding insult to injury, aftershocks set off tsunamis, claiming the lives of many. Waves reached six miles inland following 7.7 magnitude aftershocks. Around 200 to 300 bodies were found along the shore of Sendai, the closest major city to the epicenter. The death toll is expected to exceed 1,000.
While the loss of life and property continues to escalate, many lives were saved by Japan’s extensive disaster preparedness and strict construction codes.
In the chaotic aftermath, most of the world wants to know how to help the tsunami victims. Technology makes it is simple to donate to those in need. So simple, there isn't a legitimate excuse not to.
The fastest and easiest way to help the victims of this devastating disaster is to text REDCROSS to 90999 from your cellphone. This donates $10.00 to the Red Cross. A $10.00 charge will appear on your cell phone bill.
Global Giving is also taking donations for Earthquake and Tsunami relief in Japan. A simple website to use, just go to www.globalgiving.org and click on Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Choose from an amount of $25, $50 or $75 dollars and click "give now". After you click on "give now", you will be directed to a page to edit your donation amount, if you so desire.
Thanks to the internet it is simple to donate funds to those in need. Type "help tsunami victims" into your search engine and a host of links will appear.
We can all make a huge difference if we all just give a little.
Forty-two survivors have been pulled from the rubble in the flattened town of Minami Sanrik, where up to 10,000 people are feared to have perished.
Around half the town's 18,000 residents are missing but search and rescue teams are still working desperately through the rubble to try and find more people.
Police are also trying to stop people returning to their homes.
Despite the first tsunami warning being issued to the town that lies two miles from the coastline, some residents decided to stay in their homes instead of fleeing – leading to the high number of missing people, CNN reported today..
Most of the houses in Minami Sanriku have been completely flattened and waterlogged and one house was found even with seaweed inside.
The death toll surged today after around 2,000 bodies were reportedly found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture.
Around 1,000 people were washed up on the shores of Ojika Peninsulain Miyagi, while another 1000 were seen in the town of Minamisanriku, Kyodo News reported.
Authorities have been unable to contact 10,000 people in Minamisanriku – more than half of the population living there.
Officials were hopeful about unconfirmed reports that many of the town's residents were uncountable because they had evacuated to nearby Tome city, Kyodo reported.
Before the discovery, police had confirmed 1,597 deaths and 1,481 people missing across the affected areas in northeastern and eastern Japan.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by hundreds of aftershocks, and it is feared the final death count could rise sharply once a full picture of the catastrophe emerges. In Minami Sanriku alone, 10,000 people could have died – more than half of the city’s population.
It only took a few minutes for the 30ft wave to wash the town away with terrifying force. The locals desperately tried to escape to higher ground. But most did not stand a chance.
It is hard to imagine any life remains among the debris. Where last week fishing boats bobbed in the harbour, it is now impossible to tell where the sea begins and the land ends.
One of the few buildings left standing is the town’s Shizugawa Hospital – the large white building to the centre left of this picture. But the rest of what was once the town centre is flooded with filthy sea water.
Other structures lie battered and smashed in piles of broken wood and twisted metal, but most are now little more than debris.
Just visible through the murky waters towards the bottom left of the photograph are the painted stripes of a zebra crossing.
There are vague remnants of roads and the occasional outline of a flooded car, and it is just possible to see the half-submerged outline of the town’s athletics track towards the top left of the picture.
Minami Sanriku lies about 55 miles west of the earthquake’s epicentre and directly in the path of the subsequent tsunami.
Japan has experienced more than 275 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater since Friday's earthquake, further hampering rescue efforts.
Some have been as powerful as 6.8-magnitude, and it is feared that if an aftershock of a magnitude over 7 occurred it could cause another tsunami.
According to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, Japan has experienced between 12 and 15 aftershocks per hour since Friday's quake, and it is not known when they will stop.
In the city of Sendai, authorities have had to evacuate nearly 70,000 people to shelters. To add to problems, there has been a spate of panic buying as most petrol stations and supermarkets are out of service.
At least a million households had gone without water since the quake, and food and gasoline were quickly running out across the coastal regions hit by the tsunami.
Radiation around Fukushima Daiichi plant has reached levels damaging to health
The explosion on Tuesday at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan is facing one of the world's biggest nuclear crises as a team of engineers struggles to regain control of the Fukushima plant following another explosion and a fire that caused radiation to rise to harmful levels.
Amid growing fears that the situation is heading for catastrophe, up to 70 technicians are still battling to cool reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. Non-essential personnel have been ordered to leave and the Kyodo news agency reported that radiation levels have become too high for staff to remain in control rooms.
The government has already called in international help in tackling the spiralling crisis.
Officials are now concerned about all six reactors at the site, and are considering using helicopters to try to drop cold water on a boiling rooftop storage pond for spent uranium fuel rods. The rods are still radioactive and potentially as hot and dangerous as the fuel rods inside the reactors if not kept in water.
Early on Tuesday, the power plant in the country's stricken north-east was rocked by an explosion at the No 2 reactor, the third blast at the site in four days. That was followed by a fire that broke out at the No 4 reactor unit, which appeared to be the cause of today's radiation leaks. There are now concerns about the storage ponds at reactors 5 and 6.
Reactor No 4 was shut down for maintenance before the earthquake, but its spent fuel rods are stored in a pool at the site. The fire on Tuesday was extinguished, but Kyodo reported that the pool was subsequently boiling, with the water level falling. If the water boils off there is a risk that the fuel could catch fire, sending a plume of radiation directly into the atmosphere.
Radiation levels at one location at the site reached 400 millisieverts (mSv) an hour after the fire – four times the level that can lead to cancer – Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, said. But levels had lowered dramatically by the end of the day, according to the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA).
According to experts, engineers are now locked in a desperate fight to prevent all three reactors overheating. The risk appears highest at reactor No 2, where fuel rods were repeatedly exposed on Monday before Tuesday's explosion damaged the pressure vessel around the reactor.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, told a press conference there was a "possibility of core damage" at No 2 reactor, adding: "The damage is estimated to be less than 5%."
The government ordered any inhabitants remaining within the 12-mile (20km) exclusion zone to leave immediately, and told those between 12 and 19 miles away to stay indoors, while imposing a 19-mile no-fly zone. Experts backed their assessment that health risks beyond that area were minimal at present.
The news was a fresh blow for a region already reeling from the impact of Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake and devastating tsunami.
At midday Tuesday, Japan's national police agency said 2,475 people were confirmed dead and 3,611 were missing, while NHK television reported 3,000 dead with 15,000 unaccounted for. Emergency broadcasts on NHK underlined the danger that was unfolding at Fukushima.
"For those in the evacuation area, close your windows and doors. Switch off your air conditioners. If you are being evacuated, cover yourself as much as possible and wear a facemask. Stay calm."
The announcement came as another powerful aftershock of magnitude 6.2 was recorded near Shizuoka, south-west of Tokyo.
Survivors also face growing fears of widespread contamination. Water, food and fuel are in short supply in Ishinomaki, one of the cities worst hit. According to the deputy mayor, Etsuro Kitamura, 40,000 refugees in evacuation centres are having to live on just one rice ball a day.
For Hiroko Kodo, news of the explosion was a rude return to the world of mass communication. Since Friday she had been cut off from television, the internet, and mobile phone networks. But the Red Cross provided her with a radio in an emergency kit it distributed to all the refugees. "When I turned it on, I heard about the radiation. It is terrifying. I'm afraid now to drink the water from the mountains in case it is contaminated."
Workers at the Fukushima plant have been struggling since Friday to avert a disaster after cooling systems failed in the aftermath of the quake. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated from areas within 12 miles of the facility as a precaution.
Readings in parts of the facility hit levels indicating an immediate risk of damage to people without protective gear, Edano said.
The prime minister, Naoto Kan, asked people to remain calm in a televised address, but warned: "Radiation has spread from these reactors and the reading of the level seems high ... There's still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out." He added that workers were "putting themselves in a very dangerous situation" to try to contain the problems.
With confidence diminishing in the ability of the plant owner, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), to handle the crisis, Kan had already said he would personally lead a new joint response headquarters.
According to Kyodo, the prime minister called executives at the power company to demand "what the hell is going on?"
Tokyo has asked the UN nuclear watchdog for expert help and the US nuclear regulatory commission for equipment. Officials have also begun to distribute potassium iodide, which can help inhibit the uptake of radioactive iodide by the thyroid, to evacuation centres.
Edano told reporters that workers were continuing to inject water to cool units 1 to 3. The No 2 reactor was not as stable as the others, but the water injection was working "to a certain level", he added.
Tepco admitted for the first time that there was a possibility of partial meltdown, Kyodo reported. Officials have already gauged that as a "high possibility".
Edano told reporters that beyond the 12-mile radius the level should be reduced to one where harm to human health would be minimal or non-existent, although that would depend on wind speed and direction. He said a "minimal amount" of radioactive material might spread to metropolitan areas, but not at harmful levels, adding: "We want you to keep calm. We can continue with our daily lives."
In Tokyo, the metropolitan government said radiation reached around 20 times normal levels in the capital on Tuesday morning but said governor Shintaro Ishihara said the levels would "not immediately cause health problems".
Prof David Hinde, head of the department of nuclear physics at the Australian National University, said it was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, but stressed it was on a far smaller scale.
The maximum radiation level was "very, very serious" for workers on site, who would only be able to remain there for the briefest periods. But the risk to those outside the exclusion zone was very small, particularly when seen in the context of their situation as a whole.
"Compared to the risk of being on a plain near the sea it's negligible ... no one is looking at the black smoke from the fires and wondering where those carcinogens are going," he said.
An expert told the broadcaster NHK that the situation was "very grave", warning that without protective gear a level of 100mSv could be enough to cause male infertility in a short time.
He also said those in the 12-mile to 19-mile zone should dust off their hair and clothes before entering their building, including brushing off the soles of their shoes. Once inside they should close windows and turn off air conditioning. Any laundry hanging out should be left outside.
