Officials have confirmed that the outer casing of one of the reactors at the Daiichi nuclear power plant has been breached, according to MSNBC News live reports. Pressure readings inside the core are decreasing, indicating the failure of the outer containment vessel surrounding the core.
The meltdown of the outer containment vessel at Fukushima may be responsible for an increase in radiation levels as far away as Tokyo. Three explosions have occurred at the Daiichi nuclear plant in the past four days.
Experts say the Japanese nuclear disaster is the worst since the Russian Chernobyl plant suffered a meltdown in 1986. The Chernobyl accident released 40 times more radioactive material than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, according to Reuters.
The Japan disaster began on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck just off the northeastern coast. The subsea quake sent a tsunami ashore that completely destroyed coastal villages. As many as 15,000 people are still unaccounted for and are feared dead.
Survivors of the tsunami are struggling to find food and clean water amidst power outages and impassable roads.
The quake was originally reported as a magnitude of 8.9. A few days ago Japan raised it to 9.0. On Tuesday the U.S.G.S. quake center in Golden, Colorado, also raised it to 9.0.
Three quakes ranging from 6.0 to 6.2 reported in Japan, including one that shook buildings in Tokyo.
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