utter testimony devastation. no other way to describe what's left of northern japan. coastlines littered with what the tsunami left behind. japan's bracing for what could be the next disaster. meltdown fears at two quake-damaged reactors. >> some hope, though, amid the

catastrophe, survivors pulled from the rubble and rooftops. separated families being reun e reunited and rescue teams arriving in full force. millions of people are running short on food, clean water, gas, the basic necessities that have suddenly become so crucial. from cnn center in atlanta, march 13th. i'm randi kaye. >> and i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. we'd like to welcome viewers in the united states and from around the world to our continuing coverage of the disaster in japan. >> as japan tries to recover from the powerful quake and tsunami there, are growing fears today the country could be hit with a nuclear disaster. this is the actual moment of explosion at a nuclear plant in tu fukushima. sea water has been poured into

the reactor to cool the fuel rods. about 160 people being tested for possible exposure to radioactive material. both reactors could have meltdowns. across northern japan, people searching evacuation lists for relatives and friends. the official death toll, 977. 739 missing, but those figures are sure to rise. one regional police official says the deaths in his area alone will "undoubtedly be in the tens of thousands." "uss ronald reagan" arrived. more ships expected today or later this week. search and rescue teams from los angeles and virginia expected today or tomorrow. rescuers are hampered by the continued threat of aftershocks and more tsunamis. since the quake there, have been nearly 300 aftershocks. okay, let's get more details on the threat of a nuclear

meltdown at two reactors. the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, south of sendai, 18 miles west of the quake's epicenter. stan grant is following the story of the potential meltdown. stan, we heard from the prime minister's spokesperson in the last hour or so that the situation is under control. does that tally with what you're hearing? >> reporter: well, you really have to look at what has actually been said by the nuclear safety agency. we've heard from them throughout the day and they have said that there is a high possibility of a meltdown in reactor number one. i also heard the possibility of a meltdown in reactor number three. that is the possibilities that they are proceeding on. the situation they are operating under. they also said they have been

pumping sea water in to try to keep the levels at a at a height that they can cool down the reactor. that water level has dropped and raised again the prospect of more damage to the reactor itself. to try to bring that under control, they may have to vent to release more steam, and releasing steam is going to release more radiation into the atmosphere. they have said radiation has already reached higher than normally acceptable levels. however, they do stress that is not enough to cause harm to people in the area. but they have put in this 20 kill meter or 12- to 14-mile exclusion zone as precaution. you contrast that with the prime minister's spokesperson, saying there is not a meltdown, things are under control. when you hear from other aspects and arms of the government, they are working on the possibility of a meltdown it is not under control. they are trying to pump water in

there to bring the reactor down and stop the heating of the reactor. >> so just put the word meltdown into context if you can. such a powerful and evocative word. people think meltdown, connect it to schecher nobl. does this has the potential to be that sort of size? >> well, here is the difference. a lot of analysts are saying chernobyl should never have been built in that way. a lot of the safety mechanisms simply didn't work and you had explosion of radioactive material into the atmosphere. what they are talking about here, and this is what's accepted in other nuclear plants. you have the reactor, but there are also redundant safety procedures in place. so if something fails, something else kicks in to stop the radiation getting out in the event there is this defor yore

ration of the reactor itself. there is the building, the casing around the reactor and the nuclear fuel inside. if that melts down and the wo t worst-case scenario, everything fails, and the radiation seeps into the ground and goes into the atmosphere and, then, of course, people are exposed and we know what the risks are from there. potentially catastrophic risks. a lot of fear as you mentioned yesterday. the explosion took place. there was a lot of fear you could be seeing there a meltdown of the reactor and causing the explosion. that was not the case, according to the government. not the reactor, but a building outside the reactor that exploded, and that's why we saw smoke billowing into the sky. also talking about the possibility of a new explosion at the number three reactor in daiichi. that, again, though, they are saying wouldn't be in the reactor, but because of the buildup of hydrogen as part of

the efforts to bring the reactor under control. you may think, wow, something big is happening here. the building, not the reactor. and another explosion again it will be because of a hydrogen buildup. this information, ebbing and flowing. words like meltdown cause a lot of concerns in people's minds. there are safety procedures, just off the worse case scenario. >> stan grant, live from tokyo. hundreds of confirmed dead. and a death toll that's expected to rise steadily in the coming days. that's the grim reality in japan's miyagi prefecture. thousands, literally half of the town, is still unaccounted for. paula hancocks filed this report earlier this morning. >> this is just north of sendai,

and extremely badly hit. we have heard local media reports that around half of the residents are missing as you say. a town that had 18,000 citizens. that would mean about 9,500 people are still missing. let me get out of the shot so you can have a look at just how badly this area is damaged. now, where we're standing here is right on the edge of town. you can see just a couple of houses still standing, because we're about 3.3 kilometer as way from the sea. that's almost two miles from the coastline. so you can have a sense there of just how strong the tsunami was to be able to destroy homes as completely to this level. there's boats that have actually ridden on the tsunami and come all the way up here. behind one of the houses still standing, there was a huge truck carried on the wave all the way up as well. 3.3 kilometers. there were 18,000 residents

here. we spoke to a couple of them that have come back to see what's left of their homes and try and start the impossible cleanup, but they say that they ran when they heard the tsunami warning. one woman says she knows some of her neighbors stayed in their homes when there was the tsunami warning. so inevitably, they would not have survived. it's impossible to see how many could have survived in those houses. the search and rescue teams are still going according to local reports. they have pulled out 42 survivors this sunday morning. we can't confirm that with the police at this point. the police are not saying much. but this is what local residents and local media are saying. so it's still very much a search and rescue mission. we understand that they have found a couple of very badly injured people further down towards the shore. at this point, they haven't brought them out, though. >> that was paula hancocks for us. talking about survivors.

those survivors not only made it through an incredibly strong earthquake. they also had to contend with an equally powerful tsunami. check out this video shot in komichi city on friday. you can see there, the ocean breached the city's seawall and sent people scrambling for higher ground to escape. once there, many realized others were not as fortunate. >> translator: my son might have been engulfed by the tsunami. i hope he's taking shelter somewhere. i'm struggling to locate him. >> translator: my husband hasn't come here yet. he left the home a little later than me. our house was swept away. >> reporter: i'm looking for my son's wife. i have no idea which shelter she is in. >> and we still don't know the specific casualty numbers out of

kamaishi city. >> those two reports from two towns in the northern region of japan, they are just two towns. a lot of towns like this haven't been properly got to yet by the rescuers, so we just don't know. but we can assume that the devastation we've seen in those two reports is going to be repeated and repeated. the outlook looks incredibly bad for so many towns along that area. that is going to be a story that's going to be revealing i guess for a better word, over the next few days. there's also another challenge for the survivors as well. they went through a tsunami. went through an earthquake and they now have to find something to eat. more than two full days since the quake hit. getting reports of serious food and water shortages in and around the quake zone. many stores and supermarkets are still closed. the ones that are open, shoppers are finding virtually nothing

but empty shelves. even though the situation is getting pretty desperate, no reports of any looting. what's happening at fukushima daiichi facility? it's the third worst disaster on record, but it's not clear whether meltdown is occurring. we'll break that down, just ahead.

more pictures of the destruction continue to come in to cnn. we want so share them with you. japan's biggest post-quake crisis is nuclear fears. there could be a second explosion at the fukushima

nuclear facility. what does meltdown mean? chad myers has a breakdown. >> meltdown means the melting down of a nuclear reactor and after that, a large displacement of radiation. how does it work? it works by a series of closed systems. this -- when you're sitting in your car and you have the heater on in your car, you're not warmed because the fluid that's in your radiator is spraying on you. that would be an open system, because you're spraying hot stuff on you. you're warming in your car, because there is a small radi e radiator under your dash, it's blowing air through that radiator and you are warmed by that air. if all of the closed systems work, nothing happens. this is part of a turbine, it's turning whether it's a coal-fired plant or not. the coal fired turbine warms water, water turns to steam and

turns the turbine. you cool it off, pump it back through here and cool down the reactor. rather than burning coal and remember wag the steam, well, you have a reactor core and control rods and pods here warming with you are rain yum inside a nuclear reactor. those rods are warming water to warm water, to warm steam, to warm a turbine, and it goes on and on. and as long as processes are working, everything works great. the problem is that it didn't work right, because when the earthquake happened, power got shut off. this was generating its own power. the power shutoff and backups came in. the backups were little generators, literally, that got flooded by tsunami. and then they had to go to backup power by batteries. they only last eight hours. they couldn't get it cooled down. now they finally flooded it with sea water and boric acid. they have killed this reactor it will never come back online. that's the only way at this

point they can get this cooled down. let's hope it works. >> thanks to our chad myers for that. let's go back to andrew in hong kong. andrew. >> randi, shattering images from japan continues to pore in. we'll share stories and pictures with you, next. last year. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. delicious, real ingredients with no artificial flavors or preservatives. naturals from purina cat chow. share a better life.

welcome walk. glad you're with us. we're keeping a close eye on what's happening in japan today.

>> we're still seeing a lot of powerful video of the devastation from the earthquake and the tsunami. as power slowly returns to some of the affected areas. more people are able to slayer videos, and we want to share some of them with you. >> let's start first with this youtube video from inside sendai airport. everything you can see there is floating past. so somebody had the will, desire, and bravery, to stand there while this was happening and continue to film this, and then send it to us as this water was flowing right through. >> it's extraordinary, isn't it? so many people had the presence of mind, faced with that sort of disaster, that terrifying spectacle, to film it. and these are the ping toupictu seeing. >> in yogobaishi, you can see hundreds of bodies washed out to

sea. the raging torrent taking houses, cars, and people are still there. right next to what's going on. terrifying in the extreme. and someone said, randi, i think this is a very interesting point. the pictures we are seeing here are the pictures of a tsunami we never saw. the world never saw in the 2004 asian tsunami. so we now get this real sense of just how terrifying, how powerful the forces of nature are at work in tsunamis of this magnitude. >> in many cases -- look at the fury, look at the cars, being tossed around. houses crumbling, and power lines. you can see why it's such a disaster. this is driving by the rubble and devastation in minani san ruko. they can't find about 9,000 people. this is incredible video. completely wiped out hopes as

you can see tossed about. not very much left there. you can see why people are struggling to find food and water and anything else. it's incredible you can even get a car through there. >> it's interesting, isn't it? japan is such an earthquake prone area, a lot of the building -- in fact, just about all of the buildings are built to very high specifications to withstand earthquakes. but certainly tsunamis of that sort of magnitude. nobody can deal with that. you can see the giant cracks in the road of sendai city. that is earthquake damage. the road is still there. but i guess the tsunami, you just have so little hope really. it's being shown time and again by the images we've been getting into us here at cnn of the devastation caused by that -- by that tsunami.

>> yeah, i mean -- >> you get a snapshot -- i'm sorry. randi, go on. >> no, keep going. >> to get a snapshot of destruction and size, take a look at the view from above as well. these satellite images show the areas before the tsunami and then again after the tsunami. it's barely recognizable. after the massive wave that swept through. we have plenty more of this, just ahead. stay with us. nique... pure... and also delicious. like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure honey. nature valley -- 100% natural. 100% delicious. is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it.

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we're learning more about the incredible power released by the earthquake in japan. the u.s. geological survey says japan's main island was moved by eight feet. a little more than two meters. an 8.9 magnitude quake. the national institute of geovicics and volcanology estimates it shifted the earth on its axis by four inches. mind boggling. >> it is. we have some of the worst hit areas before and after the quake. these pictures show us the scope

of the devastation. josh levs has that for us. >> a lot of people have been waiting for pictures to start coming out. brand new ones for you all this morning. let's do this before the screen. i want to go to the video. a bird's eye view sort of thing. nhk. sendai before and after. we're seeing this video from above. very stark there. take a look here. about a dozen sites that were affected. zoom in on the screen here. this came to me from google this is a before image from one place inside sendai. i'll let it play. you will see town after town, villages after villages. from green to dark browne many where homes have been destroyed. large areas of grass are just gone. this is yuragi and nartori. dozens s pictures coming out. these are place where is people

lived. in some places, active cities. sendaii airport area. look at the satellite pictures, knocking out entire areas, and just an onslaught. just keeps coming. we knew these things would come within a couple of days after the disaster. what happened, google got together with satellite partners, which is digital eye and geoglobe and looked at pictures from previous years and put it together with some of the latest pictures there. another video from nhk. this is rikuzentakata. you can see before, after. one more interactive i want to show you. we might need to drop the banner. you can control this before and after here. this right here is sendai. this is on cnn.com. i'd slide it myself.

the shots match so you can physically see how these areas have changed. not just sendaii. here is the fukushima power plant area. this is before and after. i have taken all of these links and posted them on line so you can see them yourself. i'm at facebook and twitter, josh levs, cnn. more and more pictures will be coming through. the same idea, randi, what you and andrew have been talking about. this is the most documented disaster ever, inside the people taking youtube videos on the inside and because the new satellite technologies we have. we have never had such detail on any natural disaster in history. a lot people will be learning from this that might help some recovery in the coming weeks. >> and even with all of the damage, the fact that they can get pictures out and videos out is remarkable.

>> the earth might change on its axis, but satellites in the sky work just fine. that's getting the pictures here. on alert across japan. could there be a nuclear meltdown? we're watching that after explosion at the nuclear plant. fears today there could be another blast. keep it here. [ woman announcing ] every subaru is responsibly built in a zero landfill plant. so it's no wonder they fit so naturally with spring. come to the subaru love spring event. get a subaru, and go love spring. [ man ] spring is finally here. lease a 2011 legacy 2.5i for $199 a month, now through march 31.

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well, we want to welcome our worldwide audience back to our special coverage of the disaster in japan. i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. >> i'm randi kaye in atlanta. thank you for joining us. >> growing fears today that japan could be hit with a nuclear disaster. this is the actual moment of explosion at a nuclear plant in northern japan. a government official says now there could be another explosion in a different reactor at the same plant. workers have been pouring sea water into the reactors to cool the fuel rods since friday's earthquake and tsunami. people have been evacuated from the area. a 20-kilometer perimeter explosion zone has been set up. and an official says both reactors could have meltdowns.

across nosh japan, people have been searching for relatives and friends. the death toll currently stands at 985 with another 707 people missing. those figures are expected to dramatically rise. one police official says that the deaths in his area "will undoubtedly be in the tens of thousands" and that's just in his area. meanwhile, the "uss ronald reagan, " the aircraft carrier, arriving off the coast. they have made 230 trips delivering aid. the continued threat of aftershocks and tsunami is hampering rescue efforts. friday's 8.9 magnitude quake and since there nearly 300 aftershocks. randi. badly needed relief getting to those who need it in the disaster zone. we're getting word that the "uss ronald reagan" has begun rescue and relief operations off the coast. brian todd with one search and

rescue crew, and he joins by phone. brian, these guys are well equipped for an operation like this what is their plan exactly in terms of the rescue efforts? >> reporter: randi, the plan is to push as soon as possible into the hardest hit areas. we just landed at misawa air base. i'm with a civilian team. i'm with the fairfax county, virginia, and los angeles county urban search and rescue teams. these are the first civilian rescue teams we're told to arrive in japan. we just arrived a couple of hours ago and we'll be pushing into the hard-hit areas in the coming hours. this is a massive logistical pull. 150 personnel. several dozen tons of equipment. 12 canine teams. there is a lot of equipment being brought in. and there is a palate of equipment on the plane following us, set to land in about an hour when we get all of that pulled

together, the teams and us along with them, will be deploying south into the sendai area we think. >> you have seen the teams in action, the dogs in action. when the dogs spot something, what do they do? they have a camera to help spot these people that plight be buried? >> the dogs are very sensitive to the scent of a living human. we saw them in haiti. they are very impressive actually. able to crime all over the rubble, down into it. and the slightest trace of any beating human heart, they can detect and set off an alert and lead the rescuers to the area where the person may be. the rescuers then lower listening devices in. cameras to get a better read, with the equipment they do have, they are able to cut down into it and get to them. they had several successful rescues in haiti. and they are very anxious to get into the areas in japan and do that again. >> we certainly hope they find the same thing and have the same

luck. as you make your way to sendai, please keep in touch. let us know if you find anything and we'll get it to our viewers right away. brian todd with search and rescue teams. 49 countries offering relief to japan. in addition to the united states, they include britain, canada, china, spain, germany, and france. the first wave of aid from the u.s. arrived saturday. more equipment and search and rescue crews from virginia and california are expected to arrive today. china is also prepared to send equipment, military personnel and medicine which is very much needed. the red cross pledged $150,000. britain and australia are sending search and rescue teams as well. let's get back to another potential disaster in japan. tension building across the country over the potential of a nuclear meltdown. the roof collapsed over one nuclear reactor in fukushima

nuclear power plant. another explosion is likely in another reactor in the same plant. we are joined now by an exexpert from london. thank you, malcolm, from joining us. we're getting conflicting reports of what stage things are at. we're hearing the latest was the situation is becoming under control. very difficult to find out exactly what's going on there. i want to ask you, first of all, 20-kilometer explosion zone has been set up. in a worst-case scenario, is that going to be enough? >> i think so. we're stressing the explosion we saw yesterday -- this will sound a very strange thing to say. the explosion we saw yesterday wasn't a terribly important event in the overall thing. we have a reasonable understanding why it happened. they had released gas from the pressure vessel, the most important part of the safety

systems of the plant, which is where the radioactive -- most of the radioactive material is kept. pressure was building up in that. most likely to be some hydrogen in that mixture, and they released that. and when the hydrogen and oxygen combined in that building, there was the possibility it could explo explode. it didn't cause damage to the important parts of the plant. and the same would apply if there is explosion at number three part of the plant it has little affect over the course of the action. the most important thing, getting cooling water into the middle of the reactor itself. no circumstances in which we're talking about a chernobyl here. chernobyl happened with the plant still operating actually with a design flaw, at several hundred times it's normal operating power. a big explosion right in the center of the reactor where the fuel was. they have fragments of fuel. 150, 250 meeters away from the plant and an enormous release of

radioactive material. we're 48 hours past the point where the nuclear fission stopped here. a lot of vet worst of the radio activity will have died away. we're self-day s away from safety. but i believe the response has been proportion it's proportion it's a and efficient. >> how long to get the levels back to where it's deemed safe? >> it depends how efficient at getting the sea water into the nidle of the plant. my understanding of reactor number one. they decided they weren't going to try and save the plant for future electricity use. at that point, they can afford to take things that would make the plant inoperable in the long term but which improve safety in the short term. sea water is in that category.

she flooded the area around the pressure line and the building around it. it gives a lot of cooling if the pressure vessel itself starts getting hot because of what's going on inside. there is still the issue of trying to get water into the center of the plant. number one, my belief is where my instinct is probably we're over the worst. one point you did make, it's difficult to find out what's going on. not because of the japanese trying to hide anything. it's because of accidents which are of a different nature. in number three, it's slightly newer reactor. it started generating in 1974. it may well have ten years of life left. so they wouldn't want to take an action that would force them not to use it again, if they could avoid it. but they still have that option available. and in those circumstances, you need to -- we're some day as way from the plant being stable. that's always the case in these

situations, but if they can get water, then it's just a matter of that going on. sorry? >> as you say, the worst is now over. we'll have to leave it there, mr. grimston. thank you so much. nuclear energy and development expert. joining us from our london studios. the tsunami that slammed into the coast has displaced thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people. so many people now homeless. living in makeshift shelters and in evacuation centers. this he have nothing but the clothes they were wearing, and what many don't realize. they are also dealing with freezing temperatures as well. we've got more on that. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪

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♪ >> we are continuing our coverage of the aftermath in japan. and as if picking up the pieces of broken lives isn't hard enough, many people are having to stay outside or in tents, either because their homes have been destroyed or they are just simply afraid of buildings collapsing on them. and the weather is certainly not helping. it is quite cold in the affects areas. cnn international meteorologist pejam shavahari is here to tell us more. >> temperatures in the afternoon hours, in the mid and upper 50s. but big changes, overnight hours have been cool and we're looking at conditions to get colder here. take a look at some video coming out of japan. showing perspective as far as what has happened here as far as rainfall is concerned. even snow showers over the past

couple of days. mainly just to the northern reaches there. the temperatures cold enough around saparo and se in everybody dai averages 35 inches of snowfall per year. when you say snow in the forecast for them, they are used to it. pick up six inches of it in the month of march. some may be possible. let's come back to the maps and i'll show you what exactly will be happening. a storm system approaching from the west. winds ahead of the a southerly direction. winds coming from the south. it will begin to warm the area up. temperatures in the afternoon have been so mild. as this feature begins to move on, we get northerly component of the wind. winds will be colder in this case, coming off of say russia and china. that will cause concerns out here. we're looking at a possibility of snow showers and the concern initially was getting offshore wind that can get radioactive materials, push those offshore. storm system lines up where it could certainly, the winds will

be more of an onshore component. a northerly or north apparently component if that stays true. 25, 30 mile per hour winds could be pushed toward the onshore area. not only cold, but perhaps snow showers and radioactive materials could be placed or pushed somewhere where you don't want to see them. >> i can't believe they are going to get snow there. wow. all right. thank you, we'll check back with you later on. next, we'll take you on a tour of one of japan's hardest hit cities. more than half of the 18,000 people who live there are missing. and a massive search and rescue effort is under way to see if anyone may have survived the wave that mdemolished this town.

one. thingses that that's kept us connected to what's happening in japan are the ireports coming in. to get a sense of how people are coping. let's talk with josh sutton. he is in tokyo where he lives with his 81-year-old grandmother. josh, i understand you did make it to the grocery store to get a few essentials. are they in short supply there as we're hearing? >> well, from what i have seen, it seems like it's minimum. there hasn't been much left there. they are restricting people to enter the grocery stores. just like entering it, just like a vvip nightclub there. >> how is your grandmother doing? did the two of you feel the quake? >> yes, we both felt it. i think i'm taking it more serious than my grandmother has, because she's experienced the war. she's experienced much more tough things than i have. >> and are people out on the

streets? how are people handling themselves? is there a sense of panic? are people afraid to be inside? or even go outside? >> there are much more people out tonight than there was yesterday. yesterday was such a ghosttown. i work in shabria. i got called into work yesterday. there were still people out, though i couldn't really understand why they were shopping or why there were people out. >> but are they calm? or is there a sense of panic about when the stores might open or they might get more food? >> just after the earthquake, compared to then, there's not much panic going on. at the moment, it seems like it's slowly going back to place at the moment. >> and have you seen any sign of rescue or relief efforts? anybody there handing out water or bringing any type of food in? >> from what i've seen -- i haven't really seen much going

on in tokyo, but a lot of my friends have been volunteering to go or donating money. that's -- that's pretty much what we can really do here in tokyo. >> all right. >> none of us can go up north. >> i'm sure it's very difficult getting around. we wish you and your grandmother well. josh sutton joining us from tokyo. andrew. randi, we continue to get ma images from japan coming in. everybody is documenting this. we're getting reports from skype from people on the ground there and also getting through youtube and people sending videos on ireport as well. the disaster as it unfolds on cnn. we'll share stories and pictures with you when we come back. impressive resume. thank you.

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so, ladies and gentlemen, there is one thing that i would like to ask for your understanding, and also like to make a request. including this fukushima power plant. that many power plants have been damaged, and tokyo electric power plant and other power ambulance in short supply, especially in tohoku. the government has instructed the utmost effort to get supply from other power companies and also we would like to ask the industries as well as ordinary households to save energy and power. however, we do not know when those facilities will be restored. so in this situation, we could fall into shortage of power.

and if this situation remains like this, we could fall into power outage in a wide area. and sudden power failure could devastate the lives of people as well as to the industrial activities, and this is something we must avoid. therefore, i instructed tokyo electric power company to make a premeditated outage in tokyo area. and the details will be explained by minister of economy, trade, and industry, and to people i know i will be asking an inconvenience, and this is a very hard decision to

make. people may not be able to use power and that may affect the supplies of gas and other lifelines, as well as medical and health care equipment. there can be such a negative impact. along with the power outage, there can be concern, and we can take utmost efforts no be prepared. and the government has launched kano to tackle the situation. we will make sure we'll take necessary measures in providing information to all of you, so we ask for your understanding. so that we can protect your life against power outage.

after friday's earthquake and tsunami and the current situation of the pow every plants in fukushima, in the 65 years after the end of world war ii, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for japan. in that period.

to each one of the japanese people. we japanese had a lot of difficulties in the past, but we were able to overcome those difficulties to reach this peaceful and prosperous and society we have been able to build. so with regard to the earthquake and tsunami, i am confident that the japanese people can be united to work together to further this difficulty. that's my strong belief. please, i ask each one of you, please have such determination.

and to deepen your bond with your family members, your neighbors, and the people in your community to overcome this crisis so japan can be a better place. we can do it together. this is the message i'd like to emphasize to the japanese people. this is also my request to the people. thank you very much. that's the press conference. news conference by the prime minister naoto kan. that was the message by prime minister kan. now we're followed by chief cabinet secretary itano.

>> translator: now from me, i will be tacticrack practicalityi would like to emphasize three points. in the previous news conference, we told there would be a meeting by the power companies -- electric power companies, and if that is the case, we've decided that a meeting should be held earlier, and we have made many business practical coordinations and came up with the conclusion that it's very important that we tell this decision to the people of japan. and so after this news conference, we will work out the

time line and set up the headquarters regarding this planned power outage. and work out on detail. and the second point is that about transport of food and water. just as the prime minister said, we are working very hard on this. however, particularly in the coastal areas, it's really difficult to transport food and water to these areas. and on this we are trying to come up with various measures and methods to -- so we can deliver various food to the

residents as quickly as possible. and i'm sure we will be able to tell about this in the immediate future. and, thirdly, it is about the number three reactor in fukushima power plant. and a short while ago, they have started the sea water injection into the reactor, and the level of water has risen, and it has risen for a certain level, but then it seems that the gauge is not showing that level of water is going up. however, the supply of water continues. so we do not know what to make of this fact. yesterday, the explosion in the number one reactor, the

situation like this is continued. now, number three reactor might be showing some failure. and the failure in the vault has to be solved. and the air pressure inside has to be lowered, and we're working on that. and currently the radiation monitor henc monitor hasn't shown any change, and so that was the latest situation of reactor number three. that's all. >> translator: first, the prime minister sent the message, but he didn't receive any questions.

why? >> translator: he met and mr. edano was n i itano just left. >> translator: we wanted to send a message to the japanese people we think is very important. as are you certainly aware of, in all of the fields we're doing the best to handle this disaster. and we wanted to explain the details. well, so the power supply was the main topic we wanted to cover, and the ministers will make a report to take questions. and the seconds in charge, and

the sections and data will be announced by the sections in charge and also the task force, so under these circumstances, japanese people greatly affected by the crisis, so the prime minister himself wanted to make a request directly to the japanese people. but as to the questions and answers, the ministers in charge decided to take the questions to answer the question, so please understand. i am from newport tv. i have a question on the number three reactor in fukushima. the water level is not going up according to the gauge. the water system is broken, or is there a new water leakage? is there anything of concern happening right now at the number three reactor in

fukushima nuclear power plant? >> yesterday as to the number one reactor, the water gauge was not functionsing, and then we pumped water. regardless of the water system, we were creating a situation to fill the container with water. as to the other situations, the experts analyzing the details right now, at the same time, one of the reasons and the possibilities is as follows. the malfunctioning of the valve to remove the area. we're trying to resolve the situation right now. during the news conference -- >> the japanese government says it will bring in rolling power outages across the country. that includes in the capital, tokyo, to deal with the shortage of power caused by the problems at the plant on your screen there in fukushima. they say radiation levels remain high there.

sea water continues to be pumped in. as a result of the loss of power, there will be rolling power outages. the prime minister naoto kan says that japan is facing the toughest crisis it has since the second world war and asking the community and people to bond together to get over this current crisis. you're watching cnn. our special coverage of the disaster in japan. we'll be back in just a moment. [ alarm blares ] [ female announcer ] important events can sneak up on you. oh, i am not ready. [ female announcer ] but in two weeks, you could feel ready. introducing yoplait light's two week tune up diet plan. you could lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks when you replace breakfast and lunch with a fruit, grain, and yoplait light. betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit. oh...neither have you... sean. well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up.

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on alert in japan. millions who made it through a quake and tsunami now worrying about a nuclear meltdown. you are looking at one of the nuclear power plants damaged in the disaster. hello, i'm randi kaye at cnn world headquarters in atlanta. >> and i'm andrew stevens joining you from hong kong. welcome to special coverage. the earthquake and tsunami in japan. >> we have correspondents covering all angles of the story. stan grant in tokyo, tracking the potential for meltdowns at two nuclear reactors.

anna coren in shinomaki, and kyung ean is in sendai, and gary tuchman is in minamisanriku, and matthew chance is in moscow. >> rescue operations are extremely difficult. families and friends have been separated. many are now desperate. >> translator: my husband hasn't come here yet. he left the home a little later than me. our house was swept away. >> translator: i'm looking for my son's wife. i have no idea which shelter she is in. >> my son might have been engulfed by the tsunami. i hope he's taking shelter somewhere. i'm struggling to locate him.

>> dislocation across a massive scale. and japan's meteorological society says the worst may not be over. a good chance of a 7.0 or bigger in the next three days, randi. >> also in japan, more than 9,000 people in a single city remain unaccounted for. minamisanruku was close to the epicenter and nearly took a direct hit. paul ya hancocks is there. >> this city is extremely badly hit. we have heard local media reports. half of the residents are missing, as you say. the town did have 18,000 citizens. that would mean about 9,500 people are still missing. let me get out of shot so you can have a look how badly this area is damaged. we're standing right on the edge

of town. a couple of houses still standing. 3.3 kilometers from the sea. almost 2 miles from the coastline. you can have a sense there of just how strong this tsunami was, to be able to destroy homes, boats have ridden on the tsunami, came all the way up here. there was a huge truck carried on the wave all the way up as well. 3.3 kilometers. there were 18,000 residents here. we spoke to a couple of them that have come back to see what's left of their homes and try to start the impossible cleanup. they ran when they heard the tsunami warning. one woman says she knows some of the neighbors stayed in their home. and inevitably they would not have survived. it's impossible to see how many could have survived in those

houses. we understand that search and rescue teams are still looking. they have pulled out 42 survivors this sunday morning. we can't confirm that with the police at this point. the police are not saying much. but this is what local residents and local media are saying. so it is still very much a search and rescue mission. we understand that they have found a couple of very badly injured people further down towards the shore. at this point, they haven't brought them out, though. >> we are starting to get more video as power slowly returns to parts of japan. >> and, randi, what's different about this tsunami, compared to what happened in the asian tsunami when more than 200,000 people lost their lives back in 2004, there is so much video capturing the ferocity of the tsunami as it roars pretty much across the whole zone. we didn't see the damage. we saw the aftereffects of the tsunami. and these are the sort of

pictures we're seeing in japan. they -- you know, we've seen these pictures several times. they just do not lose their impact. it is -- frankly, horrifying watching the power and strength of that water rushing through that port town there. just nothing can stand in its way. big, big boats there being swept and crushed under bridges. a giant wave of black water. cars looking like toys. it's just relentless, watching this. and none of these images. we didn't really get a sense of the scale of the power and ferocity in the asian tsunami. this is what it looks like. this is what a tsunami is. >> right. there we mainly saw the aftermath. here we were able to see it as it was happening so frightening. you see houses getting battered. we have video of that. electric poles. you can see the 23-foot wave that came storming through just crashed right through these homes. the homes are sinking, people

scattering. can you imagine, andrew, the fear as this came rolling through? >> exactly. where do you run to? how do you hide? how do you escape something like that? and also what is surprising, randi, the number of people who had the presence of mind to keep their ipod or whatever they were filming on, keep it rolling and focus on recording this. it must have been overwhelming fear that these people were feeling at this stage and to continue to shoot is extraordinary. let's take a situation at sendai airport. sendai has a million or so people. it's described as the epicenter of the quake-hit zone. we're hearing stories of smaller towns further north being devastated. that's shooting through the passenger terminal out onto the airport. look at the damage. look at the torrent of water floating across. that is a runway, randi. >> this is 80 miles or so

northeast of tokyo. they felt it in tokyo. but here they are getting the -- they had the earthquake and, of course, the water as well. the airport was turned into an island really. if you take a look at this. again, the water pushing whatever it picked up in its path. do you see that airplane, right there, actually a couple of airplanes in the front of your screen just went by. they picked up airplanes, cars, debris, and people there, it's amazing that they -- they stuck around, even with the warnings as we said, and then watched this roll through from higher ground. that had to be so powerful, of course, to be able to push airplanes and cars and whatever else in its path. meanwhile, the first task in japan was simply to survive the country's most powerful earthquake ever. now comes the next job. digging out of that rubble and mess that we were just showing you. live to japan, as our special

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help for japan is coming in from right around the world, including the united states. search and rescue team, from

fairfax, virginia, just touched down earlier in morning at the misawa air base, north of the hard-hit miyagi prefecture, hard hit. this search and rescue team from nearby china. >> now to another relief mission happening right now in the disaster zone. we're just getting word that the "ussreagan" has begun rescue missions. tell us what these guys, on the civilian search and rescue team can do and why they are so critical to efforts? >> reporter: they have capabilities unique to these types of jobs. these guys well versed and experienced in conducting these kinds of rescue missions. they have been to haiti, to turkey for the earthquakes that have occurred there. and many other places. also, they -- the team from los angeles just came from new zealand as well. they are -- they are very well

versed in this. they have unique equipment. they have the array of what you would think, jack hammers, heavy saws, other things, that can cut through rubble. they've also got the sensory cameras and listening devices they can lower into the rubble. canine teams as well really effective in finding traces of human life. very eager to push into the area as well. we landed a couple of hours ago. waiting to get orders to exactly where they are needed most and first. >> do you think you might head to the se in everybody ensendai? how big of a group are you? >> reporter: we think we'll go toward that area, if not into that area. there may be outlying areas that may need help more urgently. the group, 150 people strong, and, you know, with all of the equipment i mixentio mentioned, logistical undertaking to get it

from fairfax to l.a. to pick up that team, then to alaska to refuel and here. everybody is tired but ready to get into the zone. >> have you been given any word on the situation on the roads, what it will be like for your team to get around? i know yesterday all of our crews had trouble getting around. they were going one mile per hour. any thoughts on trying to help these people? >> reporter: a lot of concerns about that, randi. there are problems with the roads as far as some of the roads are split in some places. the physical pavement is split apart. there are accidents, there are long traffic lines, lines for gas. that's complicating the effort to get in there. a consideration of possibly taking us in by helicopter. may not be enough helicopters to lift the whole group in there. i think the plan now is to try

to drive. >> we can't pull ourselves awafr the pictures of crushed homes. i have to ask. how does this team feel? i know they sends the dogs in first, which is probably safest. how do they feel about going into homes that could collapse on them at any moment, and going into the buildings and going into the rubble which looks so dangerous? >> reporter: they certainly don't seem daunted by it. they look at it as a badge of honor. most of them are firemen anyway, used to this kind of thing. they had to have really elite training to get onto these rescue teams, which they've got. they are very well prepared and don't seem concerned at all. these guys know how to do this, and they are a little frustrated they haven't been able to get there so far. >> same sure. when they get there, it will be a welcome sight for anyone still waiting for them. brian todd. andrew, to you. >> thank you, randi. looking at the devastation, in

japan, they'll need all of the training they've got. other big stories breaking around the world when we come back. a new development in the amanda knox murder case. first, a quick break. our points from chase sapphire preferred are worth 25% more on travel. we're like forget florida, we're going on a safari.

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welcome become. let's check some of our other top stories now. in the arab league, unanimously backing a no-fly zone on libya. oman's foreign minister says the league is also asking the u.s. -- excuse me, the united nations security council to impose a no-fly resolution. amanda knox appeared in an italian court as she began an appeal of her 2009 murder

conviction. knox and her then-boyfriend were found guilty of murdering her roommate. a homeless man said he saw knox near their apartment the night the murder took place. rivers and streams in new jersey keep swelling in the northern part of the state after a storm soaked the area. some parts of the state received as much as five inches of rain. worst of the flooding has been in pompton lakes and pompton plains. could there be a nuclear meltdown after explosion at a nuclear plant in japan? fears today there could be another blast. keep it here and we'll keep you informed.