Emergencies were declared at two of Japan's nuclear plants whose power systems were knocked out by a massive earthquake, which also sent a tsunami into the Pacific coast of Honshu island, killing more than 1,000 people.
Authorities say two plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company in the city of Fukushima failed after the 8.9 magnitude quake struck waters east of Honshu early Friday afternoon. The cooling systems of several reactors failed, causing pressure to rise within the facilities.
Japanese officials say radiation levels inside parts of Fukushima's Daiichi plant rose to 1,000 times above normal. They ordered 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometer radius to evacuate.
Now, small amounts of radioactive steam will released to ease the pressure in the plant. Northeast of Sendai, fires raged through the night in Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people. A large fire also erupted at an oil refinery in Ichihara, near Tokyo. The military has been called in to asssit with the evacuation of people.
