Japan faces devastation (March 13)

Cooling systems failed at another nuclear reactor on Japan’s devastated coast Sunday, March 13, 2011, as the country begins to dig through the debris left from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Section:Gallery

Sat., March 12, 2011

Hostess and delegate walk past a TV screen broadcasting Japan's Fukushima nuke plant explosion reports following Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami inside the Great Hall of the People during closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Andy Wong Associated Press
A volunteer firefighter searches for victims of Friday's tsunami at Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
A man who said he lost his wife in Friday's tsunami searches for the remains his loved one in the ruined area at Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
A volunteer firefighter walks past a house pierced by a utility pole fallen after Friday's strong earthquake in Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
A man walks with a dog across a residential area devastated by Friday's earthquake-triggered tsunami in Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
Volunteer firefighters search for victims of tsunami triggered by Friday's massive earthquake at Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
A bicyclist in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, passes debris from tsunami waters following Friday's massive earthquake, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Wally Santana Associated Press
A resident of Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, starts to clean debris from tsunami waters following Friday's massive earthquake, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Wally Santana Associated Press
A motorcyclist in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, passes a car washed away by tsunami waters following Friday's massive earthquake, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Wally Santana Associated Press
Police officers in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, start to clean debris from tsunami waters following Friday's massive earthquake, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Wally Santana Associated Press
A fishing boat which was washed away by tsunami, sits overturned in Hachinohe, Aomori, northern Japan Sunday, March 13, 2011 after Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.
A rescue team from Switzerland arrives at Tokyo's international airport at Narita on Sunday March 13, 2011.
Smoke billows from burning oil refinery following a massive tsunami triggered by March 11 earthquake, in Tagajo, near Sendai, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Junji Kurokawa Associated Press
Oil tar lie in the other side of the river bank from burning oil refinery following a massive tsunami triggered by March 11 earthquake in Tagajo, near Sendai, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Junji Kurokawa Associated Press
Men walk by damaged vehicles following a massive tsunami that's triggered by a catastrophic earthquake in Tagajo near Sendai, northeastern Japan, on Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Koji Sasahara Associated Press
People make their way along on a damaged river bank following a massive tsunami that's triggered by a catastrophic earthquake in Tagajo near Sendai, northeastern Japan, on Sunday, March 13, 2011.

Koji Sasahara Associated Press
A hospital worker who was flown from a shelter by helicopter receives a check for radiation contamination, in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, northern Japan Sunday, March 13, 2011 after Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Toru Nakata Asahi Shimbun
Residents make their way through a devastated area in Sendai, northern Japan Saturday, March 12, 2011 after Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.
Residents evacuated from areas surrounding the Fukushima nuclear facilities damaged in Friday's massive earthquake, are checked for radiation contamination, Sunday, March 13, 2011, in Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Wally Santana Associated Press
A child evacuated from areas surrounding the Fukushima nuclear facilities damaged in Friday's massive earthquake is checked for radiation exposure with other residents Sunday, March 13, 2011, in Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Wally Santana Associated Press
ALTERNATE CROP - Residents evacuated from areas surrounding the Fukushima nuclear facilities damaged in Friday's massive earthquake react during a check for radiation contamination, Sunday, March 13, 2011, in Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Wally Santana Associated Press
Fire department officials wait for arriving residents evacuated from areas surrounding the Fukushima nuclear facilities damaged in Friday's massive earthquake are checked for radiation exposure Sunday, March 13, 2011, Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Wally Santana Associated Press
This image proved by the U.S. Air Force shows airmen loading a pallet onto a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globe Master III, Saturday March 12, 2011 at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. The supplies are enroute to Japan for earthquake relief efforts.

Staff Smith Us Air Force
Self-defense force's members and others carry a resident who is suspected to be exposed to radiation, in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, northern Japan Sunday, March 13, 2011 following radiation emanation from a nuclear reactor after Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Daisuke Tomita Yomiuri Shimbun
A worker of a hospital which is located near the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, receives a check for radiation exposure in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, northern Japan Sunday, March 13, 2011 following radiation emanation from the nuclear reactor after Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Daisuke Tomita Yomiuri Shimbun
Meat products are in short supply at a super market Sunday, March 13, 2011 in Tokyo. Transportation system in the country was affected by Friday's strong earthquake.

Eugene Hoshiko Associated Press
A woman searches through the rubble of her home destroyed in Friday's powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011.
A boy has his radiation level checked in the compound of Fukushima Gender Equality Centre in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday morning, March 13, 2011 after being evacuated from a town located near the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. People live around the nuclear complex might have been exposed to radiation after an explosion of Unit 1 reactor of the complex blew off the top part of its walls on Saturday, one day after a strong earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan.

Daisuke Tomita Yomiuri Shimbun
Futaba Kosei Hospital patients are assisted by Japan Self Defense Force personnel as they disembark from a helicopter in the compound of Fukushima Gender Equality Centre in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday morning, March 13, 2011 after being evacuated from the hospital in Futaba town near the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex. They might have been exposed to radiation while waiting for evacuation when an explosion of Unit 1 reactor of the complex blew off the top part of its walls on Saturday, one day after a strong earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan.

Daisuke Tomita Yomiuri Shimbun
A young evacuee looks on at an evacuation center in Kawamata, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011. Japan's nuclear crisis intensified Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination.
An elderly woman is helped by a police officer to disembark from a rubber boat after being evacuated to a safer place in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011, two days after the powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast.
Patients lie down on simple beds at the lobby of Red Cross Hospital in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011, two days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast.
A British search and rescue team sort their equipment as they arrive at the Misawa U.S. air force base in Misawa, Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011. An approximately 70-strong British search and rescue team has arrived in northern Japan to help in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

Matt Dunham Associated Press
Elderly persons are helped to eat at an evacuation center in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011, two days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast.
A patient in a wheelchair is helped by attendants as they evacuate from a tsunami-affected hospital at Otsuchi, northeastern Japan, on Sunday March 13, 2011, two days after a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit the the country's northeastern coast.
An official wears protective clothing as he waits to scan people for radiation at an emergency center on Sunday, March 13, 2011, in Koriyama, Japan, two days after a giant quake and tsunami struck the country's northeastern coast.

Gregory Bull Associated Press
Victims relay relief goods from a truck in Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011, two days after a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit the country's east coast.