It's official: the Fukushima nuclear disaster is as serious as the Chernobyl accident in 1986. That's according to Japanese authorities, who have just upped Fukushima to level 7 on the "disaster scale" - the highest rating, which only Chernobyl has ever reached. But the two incidents are very different, and the radiation leaking from Fukushima is currently thought to be only a tenth of Chernobyl levels.
Japanese nuclear monitors, citing levels of radiation leaks, now judge the post-earthquake nuclear crisis to be as severe as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Japanese officials have said they will increase the evacuation zone surrounding the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. Until now, anyone living within a 20km radius had been ordered to leave. But that's now likely to increase to 30km and many of the locals will never be able to return.
North-east Japan was hit by a 7.1 magnitude aftershock Monday, exactly one month after the massive quake and ensuing tsunami that devastated the region and spawned a still unresolved nuclear crisis.
INTERNATIONAL PAPERS, Monday, 11th April 2011: "The middle-aged brain has developed 'powerful systems that cut through the intricacies of complex problems to find concrete answers. It more calmly manages emotions and information. It is more nimble, flexible, even cheerier.'" Also: Japan one month on, France’s burka ban and do men wear shorts well??
Japan fell silent at 2:46 pm on Monday, exactly one month after the north-east of the country was devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami, killing some 25,000 people and spawning an unresolved nuclear crisis.
A late-night tremor hits Onagawa, Japan, piling fresh misery on a region that is still buried under the rubble of last month's tsunami. Meanwhile, the country’s fishing and agriculture industries are facing a disaster of their own as authorities battle the consequences of a nuclear leak. Plus, the burning of a Koran by a US pastor leaves Pakistan’s Christians feeling vulnerable.
Unclaimed money and other valuables found in post-quake debris have been handed in en masse to authorities in hard-hit areas along the Japanese coast since the deadly March 11 disaster, which killed thousands and wiped out homes and property.
The mayor of Minamisoma City in Japan in an online appeal for help. Barack Obama’s opponents react to him standing for re-election. And the American Smithsonian Institute has uploaded thousands of shots of wild animals.
Japan's nuclear crisis deepened on Friday as officials reported that a small amount of radioactive water had leaked from all three reactors at the country's north-eastern Onagawa plant after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
