Japan earthquake and tsunami: Japanese government declares state of nuclear emergency
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Japanese officials have declared state of nuclear emergency after a power plant affected by the earthquake and tsunami suffered a cooling system failure.
A fire broke out at the Fukushima plant following the earthquake, and an emergency state was declared to check for radiation leakage.
However, politicians were quick to calm the initial panic sparked by the news.
In a statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: “A portion of [our nuclear plants] stopped their operations automatically. At present we have no reports of any radioactive materials or otherwise affecting the surrounding areas.”
The Japanese government’s director of global communications, Noriyuki Shikata, tweeted: “Gov’t taking precautionary measures for Fukushima I nuclear power plant. No radioactive leakage. Not need for residents nearby to evacuate.”
The current confirmed deathtoll in Japan is currently stands at more than 40.
Other areas around the world, including Indonesia and the US West Coast, are expected to be hit by the tsunami and are currently evacuating their coastlines.
Jessica Bateman
Twitter: @swns
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