Crisis in Japan: Body Count Mounts, Reactor Meltdown Risk Increasing

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 14, 2011 1:00PM

The body count continues to mount in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Japan, which was upgraded to a 9.0 magnitude by the Japanese Meteorological Agency. The force of the earthquake was so strong that it shifted the earth on its axis by 6.5 inches and shortened the course of a day by 1.8 microseconds.

In the northeast section of Japan, millions of people are still without food, clean water and electricity in temperatures that are near-freezing. A tide of nearly 1,000 bodies washed up along the coastline in Miyagi prefecture. Crematoriums are taxed beyond capacity, and morgues and coroners are running out of body bags. the official death toll from the earthquake stands at 2,800, but the MIyagi police chief believes more than 10,000 are feared dead in his province alone.

At the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, a second hydrogen explosion occurred, injuring 11 workers and sending a cloud of smoke in the air. The explosion's impact was so strong that it was felt 25 miles away. Compounding matters is a third reactor at the plant that lost its ability to cool down and now has fully exposed fuel rods, raising the concerns of another explosion. Still, officials say the radiation at the plant is within legal levels.

The earthquake is also having an effect on stock markets around the world. The Japanese government took the unprecedented step of pumping 7 trillion Yen ($86 billion) into money markets to prop up the Nikkei, whose index nose-dived 6.2 percent in its first day of trading after the earthquake.

In addition to the organizations we listed Friday, the Sun-Times has put together a list of other relief organizations to donate money to the relief efforts and for local residents to try and contact loved ones still missing.