Japan is facing mounting humanitarian and nuclear emergencies as the death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Friday is rising rapidly as relief efforts intensify.
The disaster has left more than 10,000 people dead, many thousands homeless and millions without water, power, heat or transportation.
Nuclear hazards have also added to the problems as two reactors at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant exploded, raising fears of leaking radiations and a nuclear meltdown, which will bring added health and environmental problems.
About 180000 people have been evacuated from the area so far, fearing more damage still to come. Japanese officials reported that 22 people tested positive to radiation exposure and as many as 170 are feared to have been exposed.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: "I think that the earthquake, tsunami and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the second world war. If the nation works together, we will overcome it."
The government has ordered 100000 troops, nearly half the country's active military force, to participate in the rescue and relief operations. An American naval strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan also arrived in Japan on Sunday to help with refueling, supply and rescue duties, The New York Times reports.
The death toll is certain to rise as rescuers have begun to reach coastal villages that have practically vanished after the tsunami. In one town alone, the port of Minamisanriku, the number of dead is estimated to be 10000, which is more than half the town's population.
Amid the destruction and despair caused by the disaster and unrelenting series of strong aftershocks, there was one bright moment when the Japanese Navy rescued a 60-year-old man who had been floating at sea for two days.
The Defense Ministry said that Hiromitsu Arakawa, clung to the roof of his home after it was torn from its foundations by the first wave of the tsunami,. He saw his wife slip away in the deluge, but he hung on as the house drifted away. He was discovered late Sunday morning, still on his roof, nine miles south of the town and nine miles out to sea.
The quake was the strongest to hit Japan, which sits astride the "ring of fire" that designates the most violent seismic activity in the Pacific Basin. (ANI)
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