<p><strong>A plume of white steam billows from ruined reactor 3 (the second structure from the left) at </strong><strong><a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/japan-guide/">Japan</a></strong><strong>'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, as seen in a Wednesday satellite image—two days after an explosion blew the roof off the unit's secondary containment building.</strong></p><p>Varying levels of damage are visible in the all four reactor units at left, while the two tall white rectangular structures at right, reactor buildings 5 and 6, remain intact.</p><p>Authorities on site are resorting to ever more desperate measures to quell the worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, which began after Japan’s recent <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake-profile/">earthquake</a> and <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tsunami-profile/">tsunami</a> resulted in loss of power to the generating station's crucial cooling systems.</p><p>To avert a catastrophic meltdown, authorities have tried dropping water from helicopters and shooting it from military trucks' water cannons. But radiation levels are creating peril for workers, and residents within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius have been evacuated. U.S. officials have urged a wider evacuation area and warn that it could take weeks to get the crisis under control.</p><p><strong>More Tsunami News, Pictures, Video, and Facts</strong></p><ul class="bullets"><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2011/03/japan-needs-our-help.html">How You Can Help Japan in Tsunami Aftermath</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110317-japan-reactor-fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-radiation-exposure/">Is Japan Reactor Crew Exposed to Fatal Radiation?</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/03/1103165-japan-nuclear-chernobyl-three-mile-island/">How Is Japan's Nuclear Disaster Different?</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110316-zoom-satellite-pictures-japan-tsunami-earthquake-world-before-after/">Japan Tsunami, Before &amp; After: Zoomable Satellite Images</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110316-japan-earthquake-shortened-days-earth-axis-spin-nasa-science/">Japan Earthquake Shortened Days, Increased Earth's Wobble</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110315-japan-earthquake-tsunami-big-one-science/">Japan Earthquake Not the "Big One"? </a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/03/110314-japan-nuclear-power-plant-disaster/">Japan Battles to Avert Nuclear Power Plant Disaster</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110311-tsunami-us-nation-earthquake-japan-hawaii-science-california-waves/">Tsunami Waves Hit U.S.—Some Damage in Hawaii, California </a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110311-tsunami-earthquake-japan-hawaii-science-world-waves/">Tsunami Pictures: Epic Waves, Earthquake Shock Japan</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110311-tsunami-facts-japan-earthquake-hawaii/">Tsunami Facts in Wake of Japan Earthquake </a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110312-japan-earthquake-tsunami-nuclear-reactor-emergency-world/">Japan Tsunami Pictures: Nuclear Reactor and Cities Burn</a></li><li style="list-style-type: disc; 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