Following the massive eathquake off of Japan's Pacific Coast north of Tokyo Japanese nuclear plant operators are struggling to restore the primary cooling system to the Onagawa reactor 40 miles from the city of Sendai. The Onagawa Reactor is about 310 miles north of Tokyo.
State of emergency is declared at 2 Japanese nuclear plants.
TOKYO — Japan's top government spokesman and local administrators say emergencies have been issued at two nuclear power plants over cooling-system fears in the wake of Friday's giant 8.9-magnitude earthquake.
Meanwhile, an administrator at the Tohoku Electric Power Co's Onagawa facility said the process for the cooling reactor is "not going as planned," adding that "nuclear emergency situation" has been declared. The company asked people nearby to stay calm, the official TV news channel NHK reported.
A fire broke out at the plant following the quake, the Kyodo news agency said.
Japan earthquake and tsunami: fire breaks out at nuclear plant in Onagawa
A fire broke out in the turbine building of Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Friday after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake triggered a huge tsunami.
It was not immediately clear if there was a risk of a radioactive leak as a result of the fire at the plant operated by Tohoku ElectrJapan earthquake and tsunami: fire breaks out at nuclear plant in Onagawaic Power. Miyagi prefecture was one of the areas worst hit by the tsunami.
Kyodo also reported that an emergency core-cooling unit had been activated at Fukushima nuclear plant, without giving further details.
For some background see:
Why Worry? Japan's Nuclear Plants at Grave Risk From Quake Damage
Unless radical steps are taken now to reduce the vulnerability of nuclear power plants to earthquakes, Japan could experience a true nuclear catastrophe in the near future.
Current death toll from the quake in Japan is 60 dead.
UPDATE:
Japan to evacuate residents near nuke plant
TOKYO (AP) — Japan is issuing an evacuation order to thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant.
Japan's nuclear safety agency says the evacuation order to more than 2,800 people followed the government's declaration at a nuclear power plant after its cooling system failed following a massive earthquake Friday.
The agency says plant workers are currently scrambling to restore cooling water supply at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. There was no prospect for an immediate success.
The plant experienced a mechanical failure in the backup power generation system to supply water needed to cool the reactor. The reactor core remains hot even after a shutdown.
This is not good news.