thanks for joining us from japan. now let's just move on to some other news for the time being. b gulf states have moved to bahrain to help the government contain pro-democracy demonstrations. the movement has seen the arrival of foreign troops and a declaration of war. >> an extraordinary convoy, saudi armed forces rolling into bahrain across the causeway that links the two gulf kingdoms. it's extraordinary because this is the first time an arab regime has asked for the support of foreign troops and it suggests bahrain's ruling royal family isn't sure it can hang on to power without their help. saudi arabia says it has deployed 1,000 troops, all this in response to mounting protestors in bahrain's streets. clashes between bahrain's protestors and police spread yesterday after a month of confrontation. on one side, demonstrators from bahrain's majority community, shia muslims, and on the other, forces defending the power of the minority community, the sunni muslims, to control parliament and make up the elite around the dominant sunni royal family. more than anything, this is a s

this video is coming to us from japan which is one of the areas hard hit. a few hours earlier a 70 year- old woman was rescued. brian joined a team of u.s. surgeon rescuers as they started to hunt for survivors in the town. >>reporter: were in this town which was devastated by years quickens and on a. he sea rescue workers going into that unstable house. these guys are courageous and go to the structures all the time no and they come out any minute. the devastation as paris hard. i wil show you one contrast, up that hill that's what high ground as it could save the people and houses. these people didn't have a chance. on the other side of these buildings is an inlet that comes from the building. rescue workers tell us that it made the waters even stronger just incredible force that came through that final and and lead and swept over this entire area. i'm here with the chief of virginia task force one, when you come to this seem like this how you get started? >> if you look at it in the big picture it is easy to get overwhelmed. we break it down to search te

council at the russian academy of sciences sciences and albert did tell you all for joining us from tokyo japan net search for now from all of us good light will be back with more first hand comments on what's going on in and outside russia when play an r.t. and take a look thank you take a sip. wealthy british style. life. market find out. why not what's really happening to the global economy with much stronger the no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to cause report on r.g.p. . in tonnage ots available in hotels friends to convince myself it's held by income bunyan treat buying from a normal hotel bunco swiss or telecom call grown to be coupon swiss until millions of pounds.

council at the russian academy of sciences sciences and albert did say the offer was joining us from tokyo japan and that's it for now from all of us here like we'll be back with more firsthand comments on what's going on in an outside rush on till then stay on r.t. and take it thank you mr. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world seeing from the streets of canada after. trying to corporations are on the day. lead. in some petersburg oh she's available in hotels a story a little ambassador in a small school to kowtow to triple desoto for truthful choto golden golden no tilson for.

the trial saved us from japan is pushing world markets slow about the situation in libya raid a supporting well crisis with ongoing insurgency of the world crude oil supplies i'll show that we should cross knapsacks rising more than one hundred percent of boilers almost point four percent higher at this hour chris with the chief strategist of the world's against blades why current well situation is paper and brush. in many ways this combination of the threat of destruction in the middle east providing sports to the oil price while at the same time the risk of slower economic growth and of course disruption in japan. causing you know concern about demand that combination which is likely to keep the price of oil around the current likely current window is near ideal for russia because if you had a situation where the threat level of the structure were to rise too much on checked and the price of oil were to go to one twenty one thirty one forty that actually would be bad for russia short term we get more money flows but it clearly would have a negative impact on the reform process on the mot

and that was even in unseasonably wintry conditions or it is ivor van are reporting there for us from japan now one world renowned earthquake expert has told r.t. why depend failed to predict the sheer size of the most powerful quake in history before it happened. so for several negative titers coincides first the japanese are perhaps best equipped in the world against earthquakes is their living on the continuous seismic hotbed of when they predicted an earthquake but nobody expected the magnitude of knowing which is unique and normally magnitude ages for us to the difference between eight and snowing is a rhythmic scale each digit increment means a ten time increase of energy so that the nature played a mean joke with them before the eleven march quake a quake on the ninth of march in the same zone was considerably weaker only seven point seven truth which is still big a little bit they decided to forecast had been fulfilled didn't they relaxed a much stronger quake occurred soon afterwards we. find out what other devastating surprises nature could be keeping up its sleeve for the years a

. >> it's a jolt from japan's quake here at home. 900 workers at this plant are out at a job because the trucks use electronics from japan and the quake has halted supply. >> most of japan's car factories weren't directly damaged in the disaster but honda, mazda and toyota have all had to stop production, rolling blackouts are making power unreliable, a third of suppliers shut down. much of the country is in no condition to get parts moving again. >> the real issue is lack of power, lack of transportation. >> reporter: truck driver dennis delivers japanese cars from the port, images like these have him worried. >> after seeing what happened onto tv and seeing the cars that i deliver get ruined and talking with the people at the port they are talking about two to three months we won't have anything. >> reporter: about 40% of the parts and pieces in our every day electronics like flash memory chips or lcd screens come from japan. the i-pad 2 is sold out and japan's part shortage may make it even hard tore get one. >> we don't expect to see prices go up in electronics. the first thing is holes on the

. >> it's an economic jolt from japan's quake here at home. 900 workers at this gm plant in louisiana are out of a job indefinitely because the trucks they build use electronics from japan and the quake has halted supply. >> it's not a good thing. when good things happen it ripples throughout the economy. when bad things happen, it ripples through the economy. >> most of japan's car factories were not directly hurt in the damage. but several companies had to stop production. rolling blackouts make power unreliable. honda said 1/3 of the 110 suppliers are shut down and much of the country is in no condition to get parts moving again soon. >> the real issues are look of power, lack of transportation to get workers up there. >> truckdriver dennis up craft delivers cars from long beach california. images like these have him worried. >> after seeing what happened on the tv and seeing the cars that i deliver get ruined and talking with the people at the poria, they're talking about two to three months we won't have anything to deliver. >> about 40% of the parts and pieces in our every day electronics, like flash memory strips or l.c.d. screens come from

charlie d'agata joins us from japan with the latest on efforts to prevent a nuclear disaster. >> reporter: we are on the way to the quake zone. the japanese military has taken over the highways for humanitarian assistance. we have had to cut through the mountains, where as you can see, it's snowing. we are trying to get as close as we can while obviously avoiding the stricken nuclear plant. military helicopters launched an all-out water assault on japan's crippled nuclear power plant in a desperate attempt to buy more time. crews are racing to finish a new power line that could restore crucial water pumps. the best option many experts say to cool dangerously hot reactors and prevent a nuclear meltdown. >> we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures. >> reporter: the biggest worry is reactor 4. wednesday, u.s. officials warn the unit no longer has water in its spent fuel pools, meaning the fuel rods are completely exposed, with nothing to prevent them from melting down. the u.s. is urging all americans to steer cl

also, the state department of health has said that it's unlikely that anything will reach us from japan, probably dissipated by the winds. but if something should get here it would be too dilute to cause problems. yesterday the bay area air management district also saying that nothing serious is likely to happen. they are monitoring background radiation shows that radiation is below the background levels here in the bay area. here's what the u.s. surgeon general vice admiral benjamin has to say about it. >> we're exposed to radiation every day in our world and our society. but they are levels that are not harmful. and the harmful levels are not coming. so i think, listen up for your local and state health departments. the government is constantly monitoring. if there is any concern, we will certainly get that message out to you here quickly but right now you're not at risk. >> meanwhile, here in the bay area, the university of california berkeley, scientists have already discovered what they say are radioactive particles from that plume coming from japan. they have made some measurement

from becoming a large scale catastrophe in tokyo called party. filmmaker tony beryl joins us live now he spent years documenting japan in a somewhat skeptical about the trust transparency of authorities there and now he joins us live from sydney good to have you with us japan has failed to fully disclose nuclear problems before but with the world watching so closely do you think we know as much as we can about the situation. well i wonder whether the japanese government even those ago heard reports that the prime minister at least ministers i've been rather annoyed that not getting enough information coming back from the side of the catastrophe so i don't think the rest of us can feel too confident about cons of information we giving japan and others are undoubtedly doing some soul searching right now on the future of their use of nuclear energy and is this happening enough to you is there some enough going on here to drive significant change well i think one of the things that's going to happen in japan are could be wrong about this is that people with definitely rethink their depended selections a c. because in the process ten to fifteen years

>> all right, charlie d'agata, joining us live from japan. charlie, thank you. >>> a forecast by the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty organization indicates how weather patterns could disperse the radiation from japan. while the forecast does not show actual radiation levels, it shows the plume touching the aleutian islands today and then moving to the california coast late tomorrow. experts say any radioactive plume will be diluted as it travels, and worst case, will have extremely minor consequences in the u.s. >>> japan was warned back in december 2008 that a strong earthquake could present a serious problem for its nuclear power plants, according to documents released by wikileaks. the warning came from an international atomic energy agency expert. he was speaking at a nuclear safety meeting in tokyo and said japan's reactors were only designed to withstand a magnitude 7 quake. last friday's quake measured 9.0. the iaea official also said japan's safety guidelines were outdated. >>> energy secretary stephen chu says he thinks the jap

abc's akiko fujita joins us from narita, japan. so, how are the japanese people dealing with news of the leak? >> reporter: what we're seeing out in the stores is any indication, not dealing with it very well. we've heard of panic buying, even in tokyo, which you just heard is 170 miles south of the reactor. we have heard reports of stores being sold out of radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans. essentially any emergency materials. we've also heard of grocery stores, their shelves being cleared. keep in mind that food and water was already in short supply immediately after the quake hit. people went out to the stores to stock up. now, with reports of the explosion today, people are adding to that panic. >> and, akiko, considering that the wind is blowing from the plant in your direction, meaning towards tokyo, how concerned are officials there about all this radiation spreading? >> reporter: well, you know, officials are trying to walk that fine line between showing a calm face and also monitoring it very closely. i mean, clearly

us probably not. blame the wind. it's blowing radio active particles from japan toward us. this afternoon, uc berkeley scientists set up this tarp to catch the first rain. the best chance they say for finding those particles. through already monitoring the air through this detector we first showed you last night. at this hour closely monitoring. >> this peak to do this, means that was specific to an iotope. >> i'm trying to not think about it because it seems to overwhelm me. i can't watch the news anymore. >> reporter: vetter says he expects to find traces of isotops, maybe one% above background. about the same radiation scientists told me you would get if you went up higher in the atmosphere. >> that's about the differential in the background. >> reporter: very low level of radiation. right now the national atmosphering release advisory center at livermore laboratory is monitoring this plume. but they are really only looking at the local effects. they are not necessarily looking at the problems for us in the west coast. come back live you can now see our radiation monitor

reporter: it's an economic jolt from japan's quake here at home. 900 workers at this gm plant in louisiana are out of a job indefinitely, because the trucks they build usee quake has halted supply. most of japan's car factories were not directly damaged in the disaster. but honda, mazda, mitsubishi and toyota have all had to stop production. rolling blackouts are making power unreliable. honda says a third of its 110 suppliers are shut down. and much of the country is in no condition to get parts moving again soon. truck driver dennis upcraft delivers japanese cars from the port in long beach, california. images like these have him worried. >> after seeing what happened on the tv, and actually seeing the cars that i deliver get ruined, and talking with the people at the port, they're talking about two to three months we won't have anything to deliver. >> reporter: about 40% of the parts and pieces in our everyday electronics, like flash memory chips or lcd screens, come from japan. apple's ipad 2 is already sold out. and japan's parts shortage may make it even tougher to get one. >> we don't expect to see prices go up in electronics. i think the first t

rain comes in the radiation i was sure to arrive to inforce parties are better reporting for us from inside japan at the fukushima nuclear plant the fate of millions now rests in the hands of just a few dozen they become known as the faceless fifty eight teams of workers trying to stop the fukushima facility from reaching a devastating point of no return or he's really going to show explains how manpower is all that stands between success and disaster. and then kinds of modern marvels reaching the moon a particle collider to uncover the secrets of creation and trying to master nuclear technology but those advances can come to nothing when nature strikes and atomic energy is awesome power becomes hard to contain days after the fukushima plants first explosion japan's leaders implore everyone to stay carm helicopters and water cannons deployed to call the reactors yet the situation remains critical and it will cause i do not think it will require as much manpower it has been a lot of technological progress made over the last thirty years still it is important to understand the number of people who

comes in the radiation will shortz who arrived to inform us parties over ben are reporting for us from inside japan at the fukushima plant the seed of millions now rests in the hands of a few dozen they become known as the faceless fifteen teams of workers trying to stop the fukushima facility from reaching a devastating point of no return or he's a really good go has just been injured and brings us more from seoul. we remember of course the biggest disaster ever and that is danger novel nuclear incest or it took several hundred people and it took several years actually decade or more to completely eradicate the ass to reference that disaster at this point already a week we'd have brought hundred eighty people working on the scene working in shifts but they are the only people there and nobody else is present and everything that's happening is actually rare here it's well it's actually it's a guy about a week sort gets to tick down to the scene at the country's most critical nuclear accidents and to pretty much state the obvious and that is the situation is grave and there are separate authorities

. >> first of all, we are from japan. most of us, you know, from japan, and so -- also some customers asked us to do this. >> my daughter is in virginia and she called her friends asking what can they do, but they don't know how to reach out. but when you see at the stores they have the box, so they can just see it and just put a couple of quarters, that helps. >> reporter: the japanese cultural and community center of northern california has already raised $110,000 for the northern japan earthquake relief fund before the telethon kicked off. today alone the phone calls pledging money are inching close to $100,000. the director says the money is going straight to service organizations already on the ground in japan providing supplies. ? the response has been incredible. even from early this morning. we have been it has been heart warming. >> let's take a look at the latest total. it is $105,714. that's a lot of money. and it's been coming in from a lot of difference sources. san francisco giants directly contributed $12,500 and will

and testing at a uc berkeley lab, we know whether radiation from japan is in the rain falling right now across the bay area. cheryl hurd joins us from berkeley with the test results. cheryl. >> reporter: raj, nuclear engineers at uc berkeley are leading the way when it comes to research on radiation from japan, and tonight they say the test results are in. rain here in the bay area is raising concerns. some people worry japan's nuclear disaster will mean radiation levels here will raise to unhealthy levels. >> i have a feeling it will increase, but hopefully it's not too dangerous. >> reporter: measurements are in progress right now in a lab at uc berkeley's campus. >> as of last wednesday we star started to collect air samples. as of friday and saturday we collected rain. >> reporter: an around of clock analysis shows a definite increase in water and air. >> we should not be concerned. the amount of radiation from japan is extremely install and shouldn't cause any problem or concern for us and our health. >> buddy says the testing is important because it helps nuclear engineers understand radiation, and it helps calm the fears

bush war has been following the developments in europe and i would join us live from brussels hi daniel so tell us what is japan exactly asking from the international atomic energy agency. as the japanese government has officially requested the i need to provide expert missions the is the international atomic energy agency the un's nuclear watchdog based here in the european union and its head yukiya amano says it has its abilities in finding and releasing and securing radiation levels and environmental danger levels and also in finding missing radioactive sources it comes as the emergency response meeting here in brussels has been raised from experts and ministerial level that means all twenty seven e.u. energy ministers have been called to brussels to really cordon its own emergency response and also to see how they can help or help japan in this growing tragedy concerting of the e.u. energy commissioner says we need to see if we can provide an energy policy for the e.u. avoids nuclear energy of course it's a it's a flute it's really a change from the traditional energy policy of many countries in the europea

david muir, just back from japan, tells us the latest at this hour. david? >> reporter: diane, as you know, they are describing the fear as that earthquake struck before they even knew the extent of the damage, and of course the crisis that would follow. this evening, another sign of that growing crisis from a hospital inside that evacuation zone. tonight, for the first time, workers from inside fukushima, when disaster struck. this man was standing outside, in between reactors. he didn't want to show his face, but he said, i thought the building would be stronger. i would never imagine the building would turn out the way it did. another from inside reactor four. the building shook sideways and the lights went out. still another from inside reactor three. it was shaking violently for a long time. i was very scared while it was shaking. and tonight, this image. the head of tokyo electric running that nuclear plant, in tears after addressing the cameras. and from inside the evacuation zone, a disturbing picture just emerging. this hospital at its breaking poin

but i think that depends on what japan needs from us. >> that was an interview from earlier. he road to recovery in japan is a very long one. >> will talk about the costs now. there is a long road ahead. it will take not only years, but substantial funds to rebuild after the devastation in japan for an industrialized nation that is already heavily indebted. the cost is still the epochal to cartilage. the consequences of potential nuclear disaster are not included in preliminary estimates. o>> sendai, the biggest port in northeastern japan, lies in devastation. the earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people, and hundreds of thousands of lost everything. the economic fallout is still the epochal to estimate. but it is likely to exceed the effects of the 1995 kobe earthquake. a portion was covered by insurers, who will be absorbing damages this time as well. but the burden of reconstruction will fall on japanese investors and businesses who have been major buyers of global debt. japanese investors have purchased 270 billion year rose and latin-american bonds. they also hol

japan. joining us is abc reporter akiko fujita, joining us from tokyo felt the earthquake from the bureau. can you give us the latest? >> reporter: we know it was an 8.8 earthquake hit off the northeastern coast of japan, about a few hours north of where we are in tokyo by bullet train. we definitely felt it out here in the abc bureau in tokyo. you know, we felt some swaying in the beginning and it got stronger and stronger and lasted quite a long time. we know right now it has triggered a 13-foot tsunami. we are looking at incredible video coming in from nhk, the public broadcaster out here. homes have been swept away by these waves. you know, you can imagine with these images just how bad the damage will be once that water recedes. >> we're also seeing a lot of flames. from your vantage point at that abc building there, are you seeing any fires? >> reporter: we are not seeing any from our vantage point but we have been watching all the footage coming through japanese media reports. nhk has not confirmed at least these are a direct result of the quake. we're trying to confirm that ourselve

clarissa joins us from japan. >> reporter: good morning, robin. this high school, home to 600 people, just some of the hundreds of thousands who have lost their homes. and officials at the shelter say it could be weeks, likely months, before they can get the people into temporary housing, so they can begin the process of trying to rebuild their lives. sifting through the pieces of their shattered lives. baskets bundled on their backs, they search for photo albums, memories of better days. i knew her, she's dead, this woman tells me. i should take this to her family. rescue workers saw through mountains of twisted metal and wood. this man came up from tokyo to look for his family. on sunday, they found his niece's body washed ashore. now, he looks every day for his sister. i will stay until i find her, he says. these men have been working around the clock for 11 whole days, since that tsunami devastated this entire town. they're going through painstakingly every area, trying to clear debris. looking for missing people. wading through high waters. a

all right, charlie d'agata joining us live from niigata, japan, thank you. >>> so far, efforts to contain the radiation at the fukushima plant have failed. this morning, japan's nuclear power agency conceded that a chernobyl solution was a possibility. the chernobyl plant was buried in sand and boric acid and entombed in concrete. the explosions and massive fallout at chernobyl back in 1986, considered the worst nuclear disaster to date. experts say the japanese situation isn't as bad as chernobyl so far. but, warn if japan loses control of the situation, the site will be radio actively hot for thousands of years, and might have to be entombed. >>> americans are scrambling to get out of japan. a flight of u.s. citizens arrived in taiwan yesterday. airports in japan are packed with people trying to get out, fearing the spread of radiation. hundreds of americans are stranded in sendai. charter buses have been sent there to bring them to tokyo. and 20,000 family members of u.s. troops stationed in japan are also being offered evacuation free of charge. >>> as radiation fears spread, presiden

and thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >>> george will be in japan in the coming days, and he'll be bringing us live reports fromduring the week on nbc "bay area." >>> this week, many americans with loved ones in japan are spending anxious hours waiting for word about their safety. and for some, finally reyou nighted at airports nationwide it's been a joyful weekend. friends and family waited anxiously at airport arrival areas as flights from tokyo and other japanese cities landed on u.s. soil. many passengers say the experience was terrifying but they were not aware of the scope and magnitude of the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami. >> the past 48 hours have been pretty emotional. happy he's back. >> meantime, a japanese firefighting crew is expected to arrive here in the bay area today to participate in a search-and-rescue training program in menlo park. the park team has been training japanese firefighters in these lifesaving skills for more than ten years. >>> the damage to japan is widespread and devastating, and the economic impacts could be greater. the tokyo stock market will reportedly o

we have to be careful because a lot of the world gets at least europe and the us import seafood from japan and my worry would be that some of the isotopes like for instance tony which may not travel very far. in the weather pattern is heavy and can sink to the ground since some of these. bottom dwellers like the oysters and some of the the sea life especially the sea life that in other sea life can i would cumulate something like plutonium which has a half life of twenty four thousand years and some change. that that would be a problem for people possibly eating at sea food i think it should probably be tested and in fact i believe that china says that it is going to test food that is coming in and other items that may be coming in from japan that it imports that's that's good. too to any of the three of you i'm not sure how to do a woman who dresses we had reports today that people coming from tokyo through the dallas fort worth airport the chicago airport were kicking off radiation detectors they don't have any in the los angeles airport they're installing them as we speak apparently wha

us from "the wall street journal." give us the latest. as people woke up in america this morning, how are they analyzing what happens in japan last night?st: in terms of investor psychology, this was not something the market had been expecting. to be sure, the market was on edge is simply because of the middle east developments that have been having in -- that have been happening. you have a lot of people waking up very early in the morning in the united states and instead of checking what happened in libya overnight, now they are suddenly looking at tokyo. you have to keep in mind that japan is the world's third largest economy now. for many years, the second- largest. it is still a very important country and an important economy for the world. people are looking for any escalation of the nuclear situation. that is potentially the biggest overhang now. host: hal influential is what happened to the end world -- to the yen worldwide? how influential is the yen? guest: it's been a very important part of the run-up that we've seen, not just over the past six months, but a very popular trade to do is this carry trade, where people are all i

plants in the northeastern japan are a thousand times above normal levels after a cooling system failed because of the earthquake or if he's correspondents join us joins us from the far east that it is not true of up on the line for us hi there carter well just give us an update on the latest the situation in japan. while there are of course a number of tests in japan out should be up to the friday quake is now reported to be over four hundred people we're also receiving some unconfirmed reports from several pages. says local agencies in japan that the number of people killed in the disaster could be as many as a thousand and thousands of people are reported as missing there's been also a confirmed ready of the fukushima blonds in japan that is one hundred sixty kilometers north of the capital of tokyo and radiation levels there reach a thousand times normal and a local agency also says radiation has been measured at more than eight times normal at the main gate of the plant thousands of people in that area are now being creepy evacuees it and there are fears that a leak could occur as another plant which is close to focus the much several kilometers from the

from japan for radiation. officials say they are starting to monitor people and cargo arriving on japanese flights. but in san francisco international airport passengers arriving from japan told us they were not tested for radiation. >> they had, because they didn't do anything. so, yeah, everything was totally normal. >> reporter: and sfo spokesperson told us an hour ago that u.s. customs officials reported no unusual radiation levels among airport arrivals today. officials say they have several ways to monitor radiation exposures that may not be apparent to travelers. >>> the first emergency charter flight has left japan. it is carrying less than 100 state department personnel and their family members. a second flight left japan about seven hours ago. >>> japanese crews are using helicopter, fire trucks and water cannons in a last ditch effort to keep atomic fuel cool as a japanese power plant where three reactors face partial melt downs. three cools pools containing nuclear fuel are of most concern. it's hoped that outside electrical power can be restored been the last few hours to power automatic water pumps. >> i'm blown out of the water, i never thought this would happen.

is that that is also contaminates it's a bit of a bet reporting from tokyo for us for russia says it's increasing energy supplies to japan following a request from tokyo peter out of as well that side of the story. russia's stepped into the breach with aid for japan used to draw thirty percent of all of its energy from nuclear power stations and that of course is being suffered terrible. to the situation in fukushima and of course the situation of other power plants around the country following the earthquake and tsunami russia has pledged one hundred fifty thousand tons of liquid gas to japan as well as stepping up. its trade of coal to the country there's also the possibility of providing electricity directly to japan through an underwater cable which links the two countries prime minister vladimir putin has said that russia will do everything in its power to help its neighbor to the east. this is a great tragedy for japan so i would like our corresponding ministries and to work out plans for how to help our eastern neighbors we need to do everything to increase supplies of fields which will pan because of a slump in e

us. the latest from japan after the earthquake and tsunami. an explosion rocked a nuclear power plant today after authorities warned of a possible reactor core meltdown. this shows the massive blast that tore down the walls of the building but a japanese government spokesman says the metal container sheltering the reactor was not affected. the pressure is decreasing but four workers are dead and there's still major concerns about the reactor leaking large amounts of radiation. the evacuation has been ordered 12 miles around the plan. the death toll is 574 and rising. nearly 600 people are missing with at least 1100 injured. rob nelson begins our coverage. >> as rescuers search frantically and fires burn out of control, explosions rock a nuclear power plant facing a possible meltdown. the crumbled remains of one building and puffs of smoke spewing out of the plant. >> this is not good news. if the containment structure has indeed collapsed, that would mean a complete exposure of the core to the outside air, loss of the coolant and a meltdown. a

charlie, thanks very much, charlie d'agata joining us live from japan. >>> thank you, charlie. >>> meanwhile, united nations experts say traces of radiation could be detectable in southern california by late tomorrow. a plume of radiation is currently crossing the pact ocean but experts stress the radiation will be extremely diluted if any comes here to the west coast. and it's highly unlikely to cause any harm whatsoever. still the federal government has sent more radiation monitors to the west coast as a precaution. they are expected to be up and running by the end of the week. >>> let's get a check of weather and traffic around the bay area on this st. patrick's day. and lawrence, i guess if you're, you know, heading out to enjoy the festivities today, you will have to take your umbrella with you. >> yeah. at least in the north bay. i think the rest of the bay area looking good. but you can see this weak system that slides into california. now it has embedded in it a couple of thunderstorms so we are keeping a close eye on that but most of the energy is going to be moving north of the gol

us and that was r.t. correspondent i were bennett from nagasaki japan. for more now on the nuclear disaster looming in japan how and how the car joins us from montreal canada she's the author of this book nuclear power is not the answer. heather how i wanted to get your take on are exactly what's going on it seems that every new report every update we get out of japan from that nuclear plant there seems to get worse and worse what is your take on what's happening here. well i mean yes so then there was but i mean just beginning but that's the problem. so we recklessly unsought oh one part you know the wars are on the rock and roll so we're all very curling who or where we are infallible one who was for us and that means as for roads we stopped. the car the i'm climbing of the rod will ignite mixing with learning and that will allow the rug was pulled down bottom how regular life and melts into a motion my i'm not really a really huge amount of radioactive material in glee is interest charges will be carried by the wind. is the true word you kinds of or so

of japan were moved away from the power plant after three helicopters flew through a low-level radio active plume that erupted from the plant. the helicopters were delivering relief supplies. join us tomorrow for "disaster in the pacific." abc world news with diane sawyer will broadcast from japan at 6:30 here on abc7. >>> much more ahead on the earthquake and tsunami. >> when you live in japan, you get used to the earthquakes, but nothing of this magnitude. >> coming up, the people we found at sfo who were about to board a plane for japan. and the clean up in the santa cruz harbor. three sunken boats pulled out and 15 more to go. and fresh reports of a new versus toyota. which is better? [ male announcer ] why do so many car companies compare themselves to toyota? maybe it's because toyota has more hybrids on the road than all other automakers combined. like the 50-mpg-rated prius, the best selling hybrid in america. and prius was also named a best overall value of the year. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. we're #1 for a reason. come see for yourself. hurry in for the best selection. ♪ >> closed captioning b

closest to japan and moscow also says it's ready to help with russia having vast experience in dealing with both natural and manmade disasters well archy's alexian a chef who joins us live from kiev in ukraine and the fallen over what is the capital for us but all the if i can go to you first news tell us how can russia says japan at this point. prime minister putin said the crush raised ready to double its gas supplies to japan as well as it's ready to send fuel if it's necessary of course many parts of japan remember i mean without electricity and energy is crucial at that point also russia can send fourteen units of hardware including seven jets they're ready to takeoff as soon as needed with two two hundred doctors and rescuers on board forty five countries have offered help to japan and japan has already accepted a number of those overseas including from countries like the united states great britain germany new zealand and others japanese ambassador here in moscow has sat that japan is looking into that russia's offer of help as well meanwhile russian authorities are saying they're ready to help at any moment. we need to continue monitoring the situation in the russian

submission russia we're not affected by the crisis in japan we're seeing a rise in sales of japanese cars with enough eagles in storage use this applies even from japan last more than two months so now our supply chain is full and given how quickly japan is recovering we're sure the economy is will very quickly make up a little a's in operations. the russian british oil exploration do hangs in the balance says contracting parties b.p. ross never. prepared to battle it out in court mr tribe you know will hold a hearing on the case next week and i'm now joined by a tease because if you neglect sure four more could feel very good to see you there what progress is there in the speech what are russian officials saying about it. look much about russians officials say that these disputes will not have cops investment in quiet climates in russia in the first place and when i was. there was a press conference today held by russia's presidential aide he said. when he was asked what decision the two parties should come up with you said the decision should be mutually beneficial in the first place but only as a tool and gas giants british petroleum and rol

in japan, the concern is growing about a possible nuclear meltdown at an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant. our reporter, martin savage, joining us live from akita, japan, with the very latest on the radiation threat and, martin, what is it like where you are? i know there is a delay while we're talking to each other. but what is it like where you are? >> reporter: well, good morning, dave. we just had another aftershock. in fact, we may have had two back-to-back ones. there are conflicting reports of the strength of it at 5.6 or 6.0. definitely things are moving. you can feel it even where we are at akey -- akita, some distance away. this nation is dealing with two major disasters at the same time, and they all relate to the earthquake and tsunami last friday. but the nuclear reactors, there are six different nuclear reactors there. all of them now are in some stage of trouble. at least four of them, the government says, could go into meltdown, not one, not two, but potentially four of them could go into meltdown. we had an explosion at reactor number two earlier today and then we had a fire at reactor number four. there was a spike in th

but i think that depends on what japan needs from us. >> that was an interview from earlier. the road to recovery in japan is a very long one. >> will talk about the costs now. there is a long road ahead. it will take not only years, but substantial funds to rebuild after the devastation in japan for an industrialized nation that is already heavily indebted. the cost is still the epochal to cartilage. the consequences of potential nuclear disaster are not included in preliminary estimates. >> sendai, the biggest port in northeastern japan, lies in devastation. the earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people, and hundreds of thousands of lost everything. the economic fallout is still the epochal to estimate. but it is likely to exceed the effects of the 1995 kobe earthquake. a portion was covered by insurers, who will be absorbing damages this time as well. but the burden of reconstruction will fall on japanese investors and businesses who have been major buyers of global debt. japanese investors have purchased 270 billion year rose and latin-american bonds. they also hol

just about all the experts we're hearing from are telling us that the radiation from japan is not likely to get to the united states, but if it does, it would be at levels too low to pose any health risks. however, the bay area air quality management district says its measurements show that radiation is not rising above background levels and that suggests perhaps that they are not seeing radiation from japan. the state of california health department is also saying that it would be unlikely that anything would get across the ocean that it would dissipate before it got here but if it got here it wouldn't pose a health risk. yesterday the surgeon general of the united states was here in the bay area at uc-berkeley and was asked about the safety concerns. >> we're exposed to radiation every day in our world, in our society. but they are at levels that are not harmful. and the harmful levels won't come here. so i think listen out for your local and state health department. the government is constantly monitoring and if there is ever any concern we'll certainly get that information to you qui

. >> passenger arriving at san francisco international airport from japan gave us their impressions of the situation in that country. some say they decided to leave because of the threat of a nuclear melt down. others told us getting around is nearly impossible. in tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter buses and train service are far from running on a normal schedule. taxies almost impossible to come by. people have had to walk to get to work or home. >> and this is where we're worried. we got there two days early. they let us in on an early flight. >> others said there was a hard time finding food at the stores. >> there is damage sent across the pacific estimated $40 million now. worst in santa cruz. this is one of the surges. abc 7's wayne freedman is live with the latest on the mess. >> now it's a clean up effort. today i can report they've picked out one boat that had been here in this harbor about two years and that is all that is left. they're trying to hoist it out of the harbor and off the ramp and into the side. it's been a long process for anyone owning a vessel. >> ti

us from the photo. one of the few remaining bits of color in a building draped in black. nbc news, minamisanriku, japan. >> stay with us on this story with so much local live impact. we'll have more from george, one of the few bay area crews in japan. you can also track us online. >>> let's turn it over to meteorologist jeff ranieri who has been keeping track of the tsunami and the aftershocks happening there. >> i still wanted to give everybody an update. since 6:00 p.m., there have only been two aftershocks which is a little bit better news since they've been rocked by hundreds of aftershocks. the latest coming 143 miles just to the north and east of tokyo. that was at 5.0. that really has been going with the theme of these aftershocks. there have been 70 of them in the past 48 hours at 5.0 and greater. the largest, one of the largest happening today at a 6.1. otherwise, back at home we're tracking some rainful. well to the north. we did have that rain across the bay area today. it didn't accumulate to much. around a ten to a quarter of an inch. the temperatures were a little more mild with upper 60s

of testing, at a uc-berkeley lab we know whether radiation from japan is in the rain falling across the bay area right now. cheryl hurd joins us from berkeley with those results. >> reporter: rain here in the bay area is raising concerns. some people worry japan's nuclear disaster will mean that radiation levels here will increase to unhealthy levels. >> i have a feeling it's going to increase. it's not going to be pretty. but hopefully it's not too dangerous. >> reporter: measurements are in progress right now in a lab at uc-berkeley's campus. >> as of last wednesday we started to collect air samples, and as of friday, saturday, we started to also collect rain. >> reporter: around the clock analysis shows a definite increase in radiation levels in water and air. but -- >> we should not be concerned. the amount of radiation we are observing here from japan is extremely small and should not cause any problem, any concern for us and our health. >> reporter: he says the testing is important because it helps nuclear engineers understand radiation and also helps calm the fears of the public. >> these are so sensitive and the signal

many thanks for the updates ologies that company now as a lot of other reporting to us from central moscow. well japan says the government is on a maximum state of alert after traces of highly toxic pertaining were found and spoil near the quake hit focusing the plant the substance is believed to be seeping from nuclear fuel highly radioactive water has also been found outside one of the reactor buildings for the first time the government is considering whether to extend the evacuation zone beyond its current perimeter of twenty kilometers is all the nuclear meltdown began when for for she was reactors are severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami two and a half weeks ago traces of radioactivity have been found as far away as china south korea and the u.s. . measures are in satellite headlines in brief this hour now and at least one hundred and ten people have been killed in a series of explosions out of bullets making factory in southern yemen the plant which had been seized by a militant group was in the process of being looted by civilians with a cigarette is thought to have spoiled the massiv

us. the latest from japan.s morning 2800 people are confirmed dead but that number is expected to reach more than 10,000 after friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami. several crews, some being sent from california, continue to look for survivors. millions have spent three days without food, water and heat in near freezing temperatures. overnight there was a new blast at the nuclear power plant. 11 workers were injured. damaged reactor fuel rods had been fully exposed raising the risks of overheating and melting down. uss ronald reagan has been exposed to the radiation but from no damaged reactors. we get the latest from japan. >> an explosion ripped through another reactor at the plant, something officials warned could happen following the first explosion on saturday. the reactor's had little damage but there's reason for concern. >> we are at a reactor tipping point. either the next 24 to 48 hours they're going to get control of these reactors or you'll get meltdown at one or more reactors, a completely u

i think they have learned a lot from us and we actually had one of our p.m. people who wept back to japan and taught over there. he learned a lot from them as well and how they operate. so the most important thing is approximately this type of training really it doesn't matter where you are from. when a country has a disaster or terrorist e.coli haven't it's about training to do the most good as quickly as you ca can. that's a shared at any rate that we all we all want to be good at. so this international sharing of information and skills is really important for all of us to get better at what we are doing. >>fá absolutely. harold we really appreciate your time this evening. >> stay on line if you tonight mind we'll move on. we have another resource in menlo park. >> david i'mer with u.s. gs in menlo park on the line for us now. squiz. >> they are taking in the estimate that they see from the inundays in japan is whether height on deep ocean buoy and the amplitude of the wave once it reaches hawaii. normally they try to keep that information to a minimum until they get into a 3 hour windo

on the pacific ocean local restaurants offering fresh seafood from the us has both japan are already losing clients customers are afraid of radioactive fish even his styria continues wholesale fish markets could be next to suffer meaning no silver lining to radioactive clouds that may never arrive it's in the church of the r.t.e. good of us the heart now and turning to the rapidly developing situation in libya where nato says it's giving the go ahead launch a military operation against colonel gadhafi his regime britain is preparing to send in fighter jets in the next few hours to enforce the u.n. security council's a no fly zone but after his son says they'll target civilian aircraft and ships in the mediterranean if they're attacked. has more from aaa. well in theory this no fly zone could go into action today friday we are hearing from the french government that it will act swiftly the british cabinet is meeting and from both these governments we're hearing that they ready to take action within hours but there are still many unknowns questions like when exactly will this no fly zo

japan. tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. other countries are putting programs on hold in light of japan, now the white house says it's moving forward with the nuclear program here in the united states. power companies are required to produce 80% clean energy by 2035 the white house says nuclear power plants are a key part of that program. there are four reactors up for approval this year. but on capitol hill there is concern. they had a moment of silence for japan yesterday, but lawmakers are divided between a wait and see mode based on what's going on in japan and not being reactionary, as some say, creating new policies at this point. the white house brought in the chief of the nuclear regulatory commission to reassure americans that our plants are safe that they are built to withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, but not what has been upgraded to a 9.0 in japan. meantime eight u.s. warships are backing up because of concerns about radiation leaking there. >> tracie potts in washin

won't know that for a while and she'll bernese an independent atomic energy consultant from scotland he told us that japan's nuclear crisis is much worse as he sees it than officials are suggesting. the situation in japan is absolutely critical the state of the fuel at the reactor number three that exploded last night we know that for many hours half of the core was exposed and so there's a very strong possibility that the fuel that has melted has already moved around the reactor pressure vessel is now the piece of that reactor vessel it's called that could cause huge problems and of course we need to really logical releases but remember according to international standards there is no sea threshold for manmade relation so any tools including reduce that hit the steelers on board u.s.s. ronald reagan that could have health consequences we're not going to don't get it but on the on the ship but the idea that to communicate that there's no risk from any radiation is clearly wrong. of course following all the latest developments in japan since that massive quake and tsunami hit the country causing explosions a