By IANS,
Tokyo : Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Friday declared a state of atomic power emergency, following an 8.9 magnitude earthquake which hit Japan’s northeastern Honshu island, even as no radiation leaks have been detected.
Around 3,000 residents living within a 3-kilometre radius of a nuclear power plant in Fukushima need to evacuate. But those living within a 10-km radius could stay at home, Xinhua quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano as saying.
The top government spokesman noted that some cooling functions were not working at the plant and one reactor could not be cooled down.
But he said the evacuation call was precautionary as no radiation leaks had so far been detected.
The central government has sent senior officials to the plant to help cope with any emergency.
Edano, earlier in the day, said that residents near nuclear power plants do not need to take any special actions as no nuclear radiation leaks have been detected so far.
Separately, a fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture following the massive quake which has so far sent the toll to several hundred.
According to the ministry, 11 nuclear reactors were automatically shut down at the Onagawa plant, Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants and Tokai No. 2 plant.