there's a wide area shot of yamamoto city in miyagi prefecture. people being lifted in helicopters. there's more. we have more footages of rikuzentakata in iwata prefecture. you can see a rescue operation. they are forcing people off the rooftops. they are leaving behind ruins. the devastation of the massive earthquake and tsunami that followed in iwata prefecture. there are more people under the helicopter. the helicopter of the self-defense forces in rikuzentakata in iwata prefecture. the massive earthquake has also damaged two nuclear power plants in fukushima prefecture. air has been released from the plants to ease the mounting pressure, but high levels of radioactivity have forced the fukushima number one plant to suspend the release. radiation at the fukushima number one plant rose tie level 1,000 times higher than unusual the central control room at one point. the rising pressure poses a threat to the containment vessel. japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency says the operation to release air from the react boers gan before 9:00 a.m. local time on saturday. the valves

in the city of yamamoto, hundreds are feared dead and missing. people have been trapped on the roofs of their homes after the quake and devastating tsunami. it looked like a disaster movie but it was all too real. the home on the left of the screen devoured by a wave in an instant. . the 8.9 quake hit hard at 2:56 in the afternoon. the shaking went on for more than two minutes. at an airport some huddled under the door way and watched the ceiling crash down. a tsunami wiped out farmland in a matter of seconds. boats and barges alike battled the oncoming wave which triggered a massive whirlpool. >>> hundreds of people have been found dead in the rubble but say the death toll will climb likely well above 1,000. reporting live, maureen naylor, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> many people around the bay area have friends or relatives in japan and they are anxiously awaiting for word from their love ones. but many cell phone networks are overloaded. so in are now turning to social networking to get their message through. paul chambers is joining us now with t

city than it is in the agricultural zone to the north, correct? >> reporter: that's correct, that's correct. but the buildings did shake quite a bit here. >> arata yamamoto is our long-time bureau chief in tokyo. we'll be relying on you as part of ou coverage in the days and weeks to come. thank you very much after a long night for being with us. >>> this issue of nuclear safety emerged early on in this story and it grew more ominous as this day went on and we learned more. specifically, the reports that one nuclear plant north of tokyo is in trouble. our chief environmental correspondent, anne thompson, has more on that story from our london bureau tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. for the first time japan declared an atomic energy at two nuclear power plants and japanese officials say they have lost control of two reactors. the fear is those reactors could be headed for a meltdown. the plants are in fukushima, about 150 miles north of tokyo, where some 30 million people live and 50 miles from senda home to one million. officials ordered residents within a six-mile area of the plants to evacuate. the reactors in question are