[Manco]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-live#block-26

5.25am: Here is a summary of the latest events from Japan:

• Japan's prime minister says radiation levels are significantly higher around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The risk of radioactive leaks was rising at the plant, Kan said in a televised statement.

• Nuclear plant operator Tepco reported an explosion at the plant's No 4 reactor, followed by a fire. Tepco called on Japanese and US military to put out the blaze, which may have affected spent nuclear fuel stored in the reactor.

• The Japanese government has imposed a no fly zone over the 30km radius from the Fukushima plant site. Most staff have been told to leave the site as radiation levels soared to dangerously high levels around the plant.

• Residents have been evacuated from a 20km radius of the Fukushima plant, while those within a 30km radius of the plant have been told to stay indoors and seal doors and windows.

• Low-level radioactive wind from the damaged reactors could reach Tokyo later this evening, based on current winds, while scenes of panic in the capital have been reported after minute amount of radiation were detected in Tokyo.

• The death toll is expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, according to public broadcaster NHK. About 2,000 bodies were found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported.

• Japan's central bank injected trillions of yen to prop up the country's economy, while the stock market plunged by more than 12% in trading – the worst day since Black Monday 1987 – as fears over the damaged nuclear reactors grew.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-live#block-25

5.10am: Here's a rundown of the state of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi (number one) plant:

• Reactor 1: Earlier Hydrogen explosion has blown off the top of the reactor building

• Reactor 2: Containment vessel possibly damaged in explosion, coolant pumps damaged by earlier explosions and valves closed, fuel rods exposed and may be leaking radioactive water from suppression pool

• Reactor 3: Earlier Hydrogen explosion, cloud of steam still rising, top half of reactor's building blown off

• Reactor 4: Fire broke out late Monday, probably caused by nearby explosions, now put out, spent nuclear fuel may have been exposed, destroying the reactor's housing. The fire may be the cause of the high levels of radiation at the site