Blast at Japan Nuke Plant; 1,000 Dead in Quake

An explosion and feared meltdown at one of Japan's nuclear plants Saturday exposed the scale of the disaster facing Japan after a massive quake and tsunami hit the northeast, leaving more than 1,000 people feared dead.

Reactor cooling systems failed at two plants after Friday's record 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit, unleashing a terrifying 10-meter (33-foot) high wave that tore through coastal towns and cities, destroying all in its path.

Smoke was seen billowing from the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant about 250 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo after an explosion at the ageing facility destroyed the walls and roof, reports said.

The blast reportedly left several workers injured.

Kyodo News agency said radioactive caesium had been detected near the site, citing the Japanese nuclear safety commission.

Radioactivity rose 20-fold outside, reports said.

The plant "may be experiencing nuclear meltdown", Kyodo and Jiji reported while public broadcaster NHK quoted the safety agency as saying metal tubes that contain uranium fuel may have melted.

The cooling system of the plant was damaged in the massive earthquake that struck the region 24 hours earlier, leaving authorities scrambling to fix the problem and evacuate more than 45,000 residents within a 10-kilometre radius.

Thousands were also evacuated from near a second plant, Fukushima No. 2, which also suffered damage to its cooling system.

Parts of the No. 1 reactor's nuclear fuel rods were briefly exposed to the air Saturday after cooling water levels dropped and a fire engine was pumping water into the reactor, Jiji Press reported.

A spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) told AFP: "We are trying to raise the water level."

The atomic emergency came as the country struggled to assess the full extent of the devastation wreaked by the massive tsunami, which was unleashed by the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan.

The towering wall of water pulverized the northeastern city of Sendai, where police reportedly said 200-300 bodies had been found on the coast.

More than 215,000 people were in emergency shelters, police said.

The full scale of those left homeless was believed to be much higher, with police saying they had not received a tally from Miyagi prefecture, the hard-hit province that is home to Sendai.

"What used to be residential areas were mostly swept away in many coastal areas and fires are still blazing there," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said after surveying the damage by helicopter.

The unstoppable black tide picked up shipping containers, wrecked cars and the debris of shattered homes and crashed through the streets of Sendai and across open fields, forming a mud slick that covered vast tracts of land.

An AFP tally compiled from national and provincial police data put the confirmed death toll at least 703.

"It is believed that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

"The damage is so enormous that it will take us much time to gather data," an official at the police agency told AFP.

Authorities said more than 3,000 homes were destroyed or swept away and tens of thousands of people spent the night in emergency shelters.

The tsunami obliterated Rikuzentakata, a coastal city of some 23,000 people, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

Some 50,000 military and other rescue personnel were pushed into action to spearhead the Herculean rescue and recovery effort with hundreds of ships, aircraft and vehicles headed to the Pacific coast area.

Army helicopters airlifted people off the roof of an elementary school in Watari, Miyagi prefecture.

The Bank of Japan said it would do its "utmost" to ensure the stability of financial markets after the quake brought huge disruption to key industries.

Major manufacturers including Toyota, Nissan, and Sony were forced to suspend production at some sites, raising short-term concerns for the nation's struggling economy.

In quake-hit areas, 5.6 million households had no power Saturday and more than one million households were without water. Telecommunications networks were also hit.

The U.S. Geological Survey said more than 100 aftershocks had hit the area.

Japan sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and Tokyo is in one of its most dangerous areas, where three continental plates are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.

The government has long warned of the likelihood that a devastating magnitude-eight quake will strike within the next 30 years in the Kanto plains, home to Tokyo's vast urban sprawl.