Nuclear Power Plant Explosion Prompts Japanese Authorities To Order More Evacuations

Japanese authorities ordered more evacuations near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following an explosion Saturday. All residents within a 14 miles radius of Fukushima were ordered to leave.

Government press officer Yukio Edano said the explosion occurred in a building that houses a nuclear reactor’s container. Plant workers were trying to stop the reactor’s temperature from rising when a pumping system failed and sparked the blast. Edano told reporters the building was destroyed, but the reactor suffered no damages. Four workers were injured.

Workers are now planning to flood the reactor’s container with seawater in an effort to cool the nuclear fuel and prevent radiation from being released into the atmosphere.

RIA Novosti reports the government will distribute iodine to residents. Iodine will help protect them from radiation exposure.  

Meanwhile, rescue workers continue to look for survivors in the aftermath of Friday’s devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. About 9,500 people in one town alone are missing.

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