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Seawall Fails to Protect Japanese Town; Preventing Nuclear Crisis From Turning Into Catastrophe; Japan's Darkest Hours; Hailed As Heroes; Talk Back Question; 83-Year-Old Out-Pedals Tsunami

Aired March 17, 2011 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.

We'll get you up to speed on Japan's nuclear crisis in a moment.

But first, a forgotten town. Kamaishi is on Japan's far northeastern coast. A British reporter is the first outsider to reach it six days after the quake and tsunami.

On the right of your screen, you will see the enormous seawall that protected the town from the past few tsunamis. Well, not this time, as ITN correspondent Alex Thomson explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX THOMSON, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Family property and effects strewn around everywhere, demonstrating these people's faith in the vast ramparts of their seawalls was fatally misplaced.

(on camera): Just look at it. There is no way you can get a vehicle anywhere near this village. Walking in is bad enough. There's no footprints in the snow. There are no footprints in the mud, for that matter.

If the buildings or any vehicles here had been checked by search and rescue teams for bodies, there would be spray signs, aerosol on them to indicate that. There's nothing like that here at all. It's pretty clear this village has not been reached. And I have to tell you, there is a fairly strong smell of decay coming from the buildings behind me, particularly that garage just there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Japanese defense forces finally reach Kamaishi today.

Japan deployed military helicopters and ordinary fire truck today, hoping to cool a crippled nuclear plant. Well, it didn't work. Helicopters made four passes over the Fukushima complex, dumping tons of water, but wind scattered much of it. Radioactive actually increased.

Last hour I asked MIT nuclear expert Jim Walsh, what happens if the nuclear plant is brought under control? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Over the next several days, the active reactor units 1, 3 and 3 will begin to cool down, one hopes. And then maybe you can entomb them in concrete like you did at Three Mile Island, or otherwise sort of just set them aside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The United States will evacuate the families of American diplomatic personnel in Japan, and that's about 600 people. And we learned a short time ago, the Pentagon will allow families of military personnel to leave Japan's northernmost island. That is potentially in the realm of thousands of people.

Food and other supplies are finally reaching the hardest-hit areas along the coast of northeastern Japan. Long lines formed for fresh vegetables at a market in Sendai. That was earlier today. Impassable roads, fuel shortages, and a late winter storm have hampered the relief operations.

The U.S. military says it has delivered 25 tons of food, water and blankets so far. The first U.S. Marines hit the ground in the disaster zone today, bringing supplies with them. The 11-member team will survey roads, bridges and airports to see what's needed to repair or even replace them.

And Amnesty International says Bahrain police are using excessive force against anti-government protesters. A YouTube video appears to show a man trying to talk with security forces. And as you just saw, they responded while firing at the man while he stood a few feet away.

Police were said to be firing rubber bullets and tear gas. Amnesty International says eight people have died in the latest crackdown.

Libya state division is warning Benghazi is facing attacks soon.

(GUNFIRE)

WHITFIELD: Moammar Gadhafi's fighters have been retaking towns and they're marching eastward. They are practically on the doorstep of Benghazi, the capital of what rebels call free Libya. People there are begging the West to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This regime is as big a threat for all the world. We are defending the world peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Intense diplomacy is under way at the U.N. today. Western allies are scrambling to pass a measure today authorizing military action against Libya. And crews in Japan are in a desperate race to prevent a nuclear crisis from turning into a catastrophe. They were dumping water on a damaged reactor to try to cool it down.

We get the latest now from CNN's Stan Grant in Tokyo -- Stan.

STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. Right as we're speaking, actually, we just got word from the Tokyo Electric Company.

It's 1:00 a.m. in the morning here, and they are working on trying to establish some external power to try to get the coolants working -- the coolant systems working again in these reactors. What they're doing is they're trying to establish generators to try to pump more electricity into there.

You'll remember that the whole problem started here because there was a disruption to the power supply, and that shut the coolants down. Then they tried to hook up external power, and that didn't work either. So, right now, if they can get this power going, I think it might give them a big head start in trying to bring this whole situation under control. Still a long way from there, though.

Today, they had to rely, as you said, on dropping water from the sky and the ground. Seventy tons of water in the end they poured into those reactors.

The electric company also saying it seemed to indicate that some of the water did go in because of the steam rising from the reactors while they were doing that, but they can't be sure just how much water. And a lot of focus on a pool that contains the spent fuel rods.

Now, the concern here is that if the water there evaporates from the heat, those rods will be exposed. There's already been a fire in that reactor. If they were to be damaged, that would put more potentially dangerous radioactive material into the atmosphere -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Stan, what about the radiation levels? We know that over the past few days, there have been conflicting reports about that, Japanese versus U.S. estimates. What is the latest?

GRANT: That's a great question. You know, we've seen that all the while through this whole drama, this whole emergency.

The levels seem so arbitrary. You know, they peak and then they drop. And depending on where you actually take the measurement, they really vary widely.

If you take it right next to the reactor, sometimes they can be alarmingly high, so high that they've had to evacuate workers from the plant. Then an hour later, if you measure from the perimeter of the plant, out near the fence, they've dropped back again just as markedly. It's this sort of -- it's this fluctuation and the fact that the radiation levels have not been consistently high enough to cause injury or to cause illness to people. The government here believes they're justified in keeping this 12-mile no-go zone. The United States doesn't accept that.

They're talking about a 50-mile zone, and warning their citizens to stay that far away. They also believe or suspect that the radiation levels may be much higher than we're hearing from the Japanese right now. So, still a lot of questions about the information. And as for the people here, they're feeling that gap in the information with their own fear and mistrust.

WHITFIELD: Stan Grant in Tokyo.

Thank you.

And now here is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Conservative critics not too happy with President Obama's interest in college basketball at a time when there is this world crisis in Japan.

Carol Costello is here with more of your "Talk Back."

They're talking back, aren't they?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are talking back to me.

WHITFIELD: You challenged a few.

COSTELLO: I did. I like challenging people. Debate is my friend.

President Obama sure does have his hands full with Japan, with Libya, the Middle East, and a threatened government shutdown. So what's wrong with taking a little break? A lot, apparently.

Mr. Obama appeared on ESPN to give his picks for the NCAA basketball championship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, here's what happened. I picked North Carolina, they lost. The next year they won for me.

I think Kansas is going to do the same thing. They always feel bad about losing when the president picks them. They're going to go all the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, they may be cheering in Topeka, but in the conservative blogosphere, some are crying foul. Take this from HotAir.com: "Anxious world looks to the White House and wonders, who's Obama picking for the Final Four?"

On television, Fox's Sean Hannity blasted Mr. Obama for the NCAA bracket, and also for playing golf, saying, "I find his lack of engagement now beyond troubling to me."

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are not exactly chained to their desks either. They're raising money to get re-elected. According to "The Washington Times," 150 fundraising parties just this week. And yes, some lawmakers have booked luxury boxes for fundraising at the NCAA tournament.

So, "Talk Back" today: Are critics fair about President Obama making NCAA picks during world crises?

Write to me at Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I will read your responses later on this hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown."

Japan's dark days. Atomic bomb survivors reflecting on the current nuclear crisis.

And they're being hailed as heroes. A look at conditions facing the workers at Japan's crippled nuclear plant.

Plus, a reality check before you go out and buy those iodide tablets. We'll talk with medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

And Chad Myers explains why you should not be alarmed about radiation reaching the U.S.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An entire town stripped away to the elaborate foundations of houses designed to survive earthquakes, yes, but a tsunami of this scale, certainly not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's being called Japan's most traumatic national experience since World War II. Our Kyung Lah talks to survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and compares the emotions from then and now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Japan races to control the emergency at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Residents flee from the growing crisis. For the elderly running from a disaster, this is their second nuclear crisis of their lifetimes.

"It's so scary," says the 75-year-old evacuee. For this generation, this all echoes of 66 years ago, when these men were children. They survived Japan's first nuclear crisis when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II.

"It felt like being hit by a baseball bat in the head, and that was only the beginning," says Mikiso Iwasa. He was just 16 years old living less than a mile from Hiroshima's epicenter. Among the estimated 140,000 killed, his mother, his sister, every single one of his relatives, except for one aunt.

(on camera): Are you a living example of the price of nuclear technology?

(voice-over): "I am," he says. "We are the first victims of the nuclear era." As he watches the crisis at Fukushima and the impact of their generation now hit twice by nuke clear emergencies, he says, "I strongly question whether nuclear energy is helping peaceful life."

Both Iwasa and Terumi Tanaka believe nuclear energy should not exist, especially in earthquake-and-tsunami-prone Japan.

(on camera): Do you believe the benefit of nuclear energy outweighs the cost?

"For me, no," says Tanaka, only 13 years old when the bomb fell on Nagasaki. He was less than two miles from the epicenter, spared from the burns, but he says the long-term health impact of radiation.

"Nuclear power, unless made 100 percent secure, should never be allowed in any form near mankind," they say. "Japan's past and present," says Tanaka, "proves it."

(on camera): Japan has seen darker days -- rose from the ashes to become this, a world class country and an economic superpower. The World War II survivors believe that Japan will emerge from this nuclear crisis. They just wonder if it will be with new lessons learned.

(voice-over): At age 81, Iwasa still suffers from radiation- related health problems, but they're nothing, he says, compared to the constant nightmares of his dying mother that haunt him. "It's our hope to have us as the final victims," he says. "I hope it won't ever happen to your generation."

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Gunshots ring out in the plaza. Security forces in Bahrain are being strongly criticized for their violent crackdown on protesters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're seeing more evidence of security forces in Bahrain intensifying their crackdown on protesters. Amnesty International today accused Bahrain's government of firing shotguns with tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom has been reporting from the capital of Manama, Bahrain. He joins us now by phone from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

So, Mohammed, what are your sources in Bahrain telling you about what is indeed happening?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we're hearing from more and more people on the ground in Bahrain that the crackdown is continuing.

A few days ago, you had the king of Bahrain declaring a state of national emergency for three months. Once that happened, the protesters there -- they are predominantly Shiite protesters -- they were afraid that there would be a violent crackdown. You had forces from Gulf Cooperation Council countries including Saudi Arabia entering Bahrain.

And yesterday, when we were there, we saw violence happening at the Pearl Roundabout, where most of the protests had been taking place over the past months -- huge plumes of black smoke starting early in the morning, anti-riot police firing tear gas and firing into crowds, trying to disperse onlookers. We spoke to doctors in hospitals saying that security forces were raiding the hospitals, beating up medics, making sure that injured couldn't get in and doctors couldn't get out.

Now, the government disputed all of that. They would not provide us with any officials to actually speak to us about this, but they said those were all lies, and they insist that the protesters are, in fact, saboteurs trying to bring down the government. But the situation, very much deteriorating, and people are really concerned that this could actually lead at some point to civil war -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Mohammed, you're in Abu Dhabi now, but you were in Bahrain. You were expelled.

Is your feeling that there is a government clampdown on international media?

JAMJOOM: We're hearing more and more reports from people on the ground, especially rights activists, that journalists, both Bahraini and foreign, are being asked not to report. There are even rumors that there are some that have been detained. We're trying to get to the bottom of that and conform those reports.

In my case, I, as the CNN correspondent who was there, was told I had to leave, that I was barred from reporting. That was the Ministry of Information. I was kicked out last night.

We have a team that's still there. My colleague, Leone Lakhani, is reporting from the ground there right now. But there are concerns from activists, from rights groups there, that if this crackdown continues, the Bahrain government will not want reporting going on from the ground, that they're going to limit access to the protest areas. And we were told earlier today that journalists were not able to access any of the hospitals, that there were security forces outside of the hospitals so they could not get to and interview doctors and the injured.

WHITFIELD: Mohammed Jamjoom.

Thanks so much, from Abu Dhabi.

Other stories now.

Libyan state television reports an all-out assault on the rebel capital of Benghazi could happen very soon. Moammar Gadhafi's forces have been fighting their way towards it. They claim to have taken the final city on the road to Benghazi, but CNN journalists there have seen no proof of that. The U.N. Security Council could vote today on a resolution authorizing military action in Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are discussing very seriously and leading efforts in the Council around a range of actions that we believe could be effective in protecting civilians. Those include discussion of a no-fly zone. But the U.S. view is that we need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include but perhaps go beyond a no-fly zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: There is also growing concern about four "New York Times" journalists missing in Libya. The newspaper says it has received secondhand information that some of them were detained by government troops, but the Libyan military says it has no information on the journalists.

And later this afternoon, the husband of one of those journalists will join Ali Velshi live. That's in the 2:00 hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Ali is also looking at whether the four missing journalists are game-changers in the U.S. getting involved in the Libyan conflict.

And the nuclear crisis in Japan has some Americans worried about radiation in the air. They're buying potassium iodide pills. But should they?

We'll check in with our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, for a reality check.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And this just in. We're learning from the White House that President Barack Obama will have a statement as it pertains to Japan at about 3:30 Eastern Time. We'll carry that for you, of course. Meantime, straight ahead.

"On the Rundown," should you be concerned about radiation from the crippled Japanese nuclear plant? We'll get a reality check.

And devastation everywhere in a Japanese town. Now there's snow and cold adding to the misery.

And Japan's national heroes. We'll take a closer look at the nuclear plant workers who are putting their lives on the line.

And a dramatic survival story. An 83-year-old woman escapes from the tsunami on her bicycle.

So reports now that radiation plumes from Japan will reach the U.S. West Coast tomorrow have alarmed many Americans.

Chad Myers is with us now.

So, Chad, experts are telling us that there is no cause for alarm or panic. Right?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, yes, that's correct. And do you want to know why?

WHITFIELD: Tell us why.

MYERS: Because all of the graphics and all the animations you've been seeing in other places online that show this plume of radiation reaching the West Coast is part of a computer model that was run this week for a plume of radiation that escaped from Japan on Saturday. The only problem is, there wasn't a plume.

So all of this talk about this plume is coming to the United States is all debunked because there is no plume. There's no radiation in the air.

The model was run to say if this would have happened, then where would it go. Now, OK. So that gives us a reality check that if it still does happen, that maybe there's something to worry about. But here is the Wood speed model.

And this does not indicate where the radiation would go 100 percent, because radiation will be in the bottom levels. That's where we care, right? Because that's where we live. It'd be in the mid- levels in the atmosphere, and also upper levels of the atmosphere, depending on the air, how it goes up and down. The midlevel radiation can go around and around and around 100 times, we don't care. Until it rains, and then it can be radioactive rain.

Here is Japan, that arrow. Here is California, that arrow. Back up our wind speed animation to basically right now. If a parcel comes off, it's going to go down, it's going to go up, it's going to go around, it's going to follow these lines, it's going to go over Russia. And it's probably going to go up and probably over the western parts of Alaska. That's if that piece of parcel, that balloon that doesn't have any helium in it, just stays along the ground and blows along.

But you know what? By the time it gets there five days later, most of the radiation in those isotopes is gone, anyway! Or mixed up into the atmosphere way up high and not where we live!

WHITFIELD: Right. Dissipated, dissolved, disappear.

MYERS: So isotopes that are being released in here, some of them only last - are only radioactive for like eight seconds. Well, if it's going to take five days to get to America or 10 days, certainly they won't be radioactive by the time they get here. There's no plume. If we see a plume, worst-case scenario, the models that we run will be more accurate. Don't be too concerned.

WHITFIELD: Much relieved. Chad Myers, thanks so much.

However, it still means that there are a lot of fears over radiation contamination in general, and that's why a lot of pharmacies and vitamin shops across the U.S. are now flooded with people looking for potassium iodine. There's also a growing demand for nuclear decontamination kits.

But before you reach into your wallet, CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to punctuate the same kind of message you just heard from Chad, that it may be a little overzealous to do that. Maybe a lot overzealous.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is definitely a lot overzealous!

WHITFIELD: But in the meantime, for those who have rushed to the store, bought all this material, etcetera, what are they going to do with this material now?

COHEN: Oh, I don't know what they're going to do with it! I mean, I certainly hope they're not taking the potassium iodide because there's no reason to and you might get some bad side effects, so that wouldn't be such a great idea.

WHITFIELD: So, if there were contamination, there's a window of opportunity in which you take it. Now, if there is no radiation, you do take it and then what happens?

COHEN: Well, hopefully nothing. But there can be side effects. Some people might be allergic to they and they don't know it because they don't usually go around taking potassium iodide usually. And if you take too much of it, you can get some pretty bad gastrointestinal problems and other problems as well. So, you definitely don't want to be taking this stuff unless you need to.

And the thing is, what we're hearing from lots of experts - and I'm not just talking one or two or three. I mean, I'm talking everyone across the board saying the same thing: there is no reason to worry. And I'm going to tell you the one sentence that explains why there's no reason to worry. And it's something I learned in public health school. A professor said, "The solution to pollution is dilution."

Look at that map, Fred. That's more than 5,000 miles.

WHITFIELD: And that's exactly what Chad was talking about. Dilution.

COHEN: Right. This is sort of the version for idiots compared to what Chad did. His was much more sophisticated.

So, this is more than 5,000 miles. God forbid if there were some radiation floating into the ocean, it wouldn't be anything to worry about by the time it got to the West Coast. So, save your money. I know you can buy them online. We have some. I just bought them for demo purposes. But you don't need to be taking it. Shouldn't be taking it. It is not the right thing to do right now.

WHITFIELD: Those who are in Japan, who are closest to the threat of the potential danger, they are taking potassium iodine for what purposes? This is to protect their thyroid?

COHEN: Yes, exactly. The thyroid is a gland right around here that's shaped like a butterfly. And it can absorb all of that - absorb some of that radiation coming out at them. And so what the purpose of the pills is that it fills up the gland. So, instead of it filling up with bad radiation, it fills up with potassium iodide. It's actually very simple. It's a really very elegant way to prevent the problem.

And so there are legitimate reasons for taking it. I mean, if you're right there, right near where it's happening and you're inside that plant, then you do have more reason for concern that if you live in California.

WHITFIELD: And then I mentioned at the top people in California and other places on the West Coast are buying these decontamination kits. What is that all about? What's usually contained in that?

COHEN: Right. These are available online, and not just because of what's happening in Japan. Just - they've always been there. And they contain various things. They often contain potassium iodine. They sometimes will contain -- we've seen tents being sold. They contain meters for measuring radioactivity. They contain wipes that you can allegedly use to get rid of radiation that might fall on you.

WHITFIELD: Again, no need to put this into use right now if you're stateside.

COHEN: Correct. And I would save the money. I mean, if you're worrying about something falling on you --- bad stuff falling on you in any situation, you would take your clothes off, get rid of them, take a shower with soap and water. You don't need the wipes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, breaking it down, keeping it nice and simple for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Meantime, ITN's Alex Thomson will give us an up-close look at one Japanese town devastated by the quake and tsunami.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX THOMSON, ITN: An entire town stripped away to the elaborate foundations of houses designed to withstand earthquakes, yes. But a tsunami of this scale, certainly not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The rubble in much of Japan's quake and tsunami zone is covered now in a thin blanket of snow. ITN's Alex Thomson gives us a look at a devastated town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMSON: Army aid convoys heading east over the central mountains into the quake zone this morning. Several Japanese have asked me, what have we done to deserve this historically powerful earthquake, this vast tsunami damage and now the blizzards?

With officials here now saying more than 4,000 people are confirmed dead, we've come to the east coast to see how far search and rescue for bodies has gone in this vast area of damage. Our driver, Chin, just can't believe what he's seeing. He was last here on holiday several years ago.

HIROMI HARAGUCHI, KAMAISHI RESIDENT (through translator): The tsunami reached up there. There's only five homes left up there. All the rest are destroyed.

THOMSON: At the coast, we meet Hiromi and his plea to the wider world, that of so many here. It's freezing. We need blankets, but much more.

HARAGUCHI (through translator): Well, to be frank, I need a bath and stuff like that. But I know it's too much to ask. It's so cold here. We need kerosene and we need petrol.

THOMSON: We have seen towns wrecked, factories pulverized, but never roads, bridges and the vast anti-tsunami sea defenses here at Kamaishi, smashed like they were today.

And Hiromi had been good enough to explain to us exactly what happened here six days ago. It was about half an hour after the last of the earth tremors finished. People noticed that this entire bay began simply emptying of water. The tide went out, way beyond the red hulk of the red ship you can see there, out even beyond the lighthouse, which you can just see sticking up in the snow.

The entire bay was emptied of water, and it stayed that way for some moment. Then, people living here describe an enormous rushing, roaring sound. It was the tsunami approaching at 15, 20 miles per hour, pushing everything before it. Right up, right through this bay. The people living in the village in the corner there, many of them stayed put. They had had problems with tsunamis before. They had come and gone, no issue. On this occasion, things were very different.

We decided to try and get there. Clearly, no vehicles are going anywhere near. And look at the size of these supposed tsunami defenses. High enough, thick enough, long enough -- so everybody thought.

An entire town stripped away to the elaborate foundations of houses designed to with stand earthquakes, yes, but a tsunami of this scale, certainly not. We finally reach the part of the town where local people had said many stayed, believing they would be safe. Family property and effects strewn around everywhere, demonstrating these people's faith in the vast ramparts of their sea walls was fatally misplaced.

Just look at it. There is no way you could get a vehicle anywhere near this village. Walking in is bad enough. There are no footprints in the snow. There are no footprints in the mud, for that matter. If the buildings or any vehicles here had been checked by search and rescue teams for bodies, there would be spray signs, aerosol on them to indicate that. There's nothing like that here at all. It's pretty clear this village has not been reached.

And I have to tell you, there is a fairly strong smell of decay coming from the buildings behind me, particularly from that garage just there.

One small example in one small village of the enormous job here in Japan, simply to locate the bodies, let alone begin clearing up this mess. Nearby on the sea wall, the broken sea wall, the warning notice for the tsunamis survives.

But how many of the people here did so? That will take some time to become clear.

Alex Thomson, Channel 4 News, Kamaishi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: They know it could cost them their lives, but the heroes working to avert a nuclear meltdown in Japan press on. We'll look at the odds they're facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: They are being hailed as heroes. One hundred and eighty people are rising their lives to prevent a meltdown in the badly damaged nuclear plant in Japan. CNN's Carl Azuz is following the dangers that they are facing, the mythology and what is taking place as a result of the sacrifices that they're making.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Uh-huh. And there are, I think, there are two reasons why they're being hailed as heroes. I mean you're looking at people who have experience and a great deal of courage. These people who are working at Japan's nuclear reactors, trying to contain a potential meltdown, are engineers. They're folks who have been around nuclear reactors. They're radiation containment experts. And they're educated. They know exactly the risks they're taking. They're the people running in when others are moving out. And it is for that reason, the fact that they understand this could have health effects down the road or sooner, that I think they're being hailed as heroes.

WHITFIELD: And then what is between them and the radiation? What is protecting them?

AZUZ: There are several different things they have in terms of clothing and equipment. It's surprisingly not very effective. These folks have full body hazardous material suits. You might have seen pictures of those before in the news, that sort of thing, that protect them. Oxygen tanks. They're carrying respirators in some cases to help them breath in a very dangerous environment. They have radiation detectors, so at least they understand the levels of radiation they're facing.

And one thing you might not think, flashlights. The generators failed. Power generators failed. And so sometimes they're crawling through the dark with nothing to light their way but flashlights and the occasional flare-up of hydrogen. And so these folks are -- they're heavily equipped, but that equipment does very, very little. The radiation is in the air. They're covered in it. And so it's still seeping into their bodies in very high levels in some cases.

WHITFIELD: So then I wonder, these workers, the level of expertise that you're talking about, did they volunteer for this kind of duty in, you know, desire situations like this or are they, in large part, assigned to do this?

AZUZ: Japan is telling us these folks are volunteers. There's one sorry about a 59-year-old worker who is months away from retirement who decided to go in and do what he could to try to contain this.

In terms of radiation levels that we're seeing, you know, Fredricka, you and I in America, we see roughly 3 millisieverts -- it's a unit of measurement we look at -- 3 millisieverts a year of naturally occurring radiation. That goes up to U.S. nuclear workers, the threshold for them is 50 millisieverts a year of radiation. Radiation sickness becomes possible at around 1,000 millisieverts. Not talking about a year any more, we're talking about doses of 1,000 millisieverts in short periods of time. And we do know at one point yesterday that the radiation levels at Japan's plant spiked to around 400 millisieverts. So they're at a place now where sickness is certainly possible down the road, if not sooner through radiation sickness.

WHITFIELD: OK, Carl Azuz, thanks so much, for more on these heroic workers who are doing all they can to contain and perhaps potentially protect so many others.

AZUZ: Absolutely. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, we are also reading your responses to our "Talk Back" question. Are critics being unfair about President Obama making NCAA basketball picks during such a world crisis? Jeff writes this. "Regardless of who the sitting president is, detractors will have a problem with the president taking time out for the lighter side of life."

More of your responses just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, time to go "Cross Country" now for stories CNN affiliates are covering.

First stop, Nashville. A surveillance camera captures this wild shoot-out at a downtown gas station. The owner says it's the third time in three years that he has been robbed at gun point at his store. After a struggle, he was able to pull his own gun and actually fire back, as you see right there. Amazingly, no one was hurt. But the people who tried to rob the store owner got away.

All right, in Big Sur, California, at least 30 feet of highway, one just slid right into the ocean there. That's about a 300 foot drop. Can you believe that right there? They're not sure why it happened. Erosion may be to blame.

And Lansing, Michigan. Thousands of demonstrators protested inside the capitol. They're upset about Governor Rick Snyder's proposal to give emergency financial managers the power to void union contracts.

Let's talk a little bit more about conservative critics now jumping on President Barack Obama's interest in college basketball during a time of crisis. They apparently don't think it's a good idea for him to be going on ESPN with his basketball bracket choices. Carol Costello is back here with some of your responses, because you've been quite chatty about it all.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you have been quite chatty and I've enjoyed reading your comments because they're just so cleaver, some of them.

So the "Talk Back" question today, are critics fair about President Obama making NCAA picks during world crises.

This from Sheila. "How many of them spend 24/7 focusing on stupid stuff to gripe about? Oh, I guess they all do in order to focus on this. Give me a break."

This from Christine. "I like President Obama. I voted for him, in fact. However, I saw him on ESPN and it did make me rather uncomfortable. Granted, he began the broadcast with a plea to help USAID, but it did seem to be extremely poor timing."

This from Whitney. "Honestly, if the president didn't take time to relax and actually clear his mind, he'd probably go crazy and make some really bad decisions. Stop making it seem like Obama is the worst president. He's doing the best he can. Hop off."

And this from Bill. "I hope he wins his bracket pool. That would send the Tea Party right over the edge."

I told you they were cleaver. Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we don't think it's in response to the viewers in this "Talk Back," but the president will be making some comments about Japan later on today, 3:30 Eastern Time. Of course, CNN will be covering that live.

COSTELLO: Cool.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Carol.

All right, meantime, survivors are opening up about how they were able to escape with their lives as that tsunami approached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TSUNA KIMURA, QUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): After the tsunami warning, I got on my bicycle by myself and rode away.

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WHITFIELD: It is unbelievable no matter how many times you look at this. This incredible video right here was shot from inside Sendai Airport on Friday. And you can hear the fear in the people's voices as that tsunami races through, washing away dozens of cars, as you see there.

Now, take a look at the damage left behind. This footage was shot earlier today. Trees are uprooted and debris is spread everywhere, as you see. Cars look like they've been picked up and simply tossed aside.

So, the life of every survivor has been forever changed by the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear uncertainty. Stories of survival are sometimes as unbelievable as the magnitude of the catastrophe itself. Gary Tuchman has the story of one elderly woman's race against the waves.

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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tsuna Kimura is living among friends at a shelter in the city of Hachinohe, Japan. But on the day of the earthquake and tsunami, she was at the home where she lived by herself.

TSUNA KIMURA, QUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): I was scared.

TUCHMAN: But she had her wits about her. She heard the siren signaling a tsunami was on the way. So what did this 83-year-old woman do?

KIMURA: After the tsunami warning, I got on my bicycle, by myself, and rode away.

TUCHMAN: That's right. Tsuna Kimura escaped the tsunami on her bike. She spent her life as a rice farmer and takes pride in her physical stamina. When she saw the waters devouring her city, she couldn't believe it.

KIMURA: I thought Japan would disappear. I thought Japan would disappear under water.

TUCHMAN: Like so many people on the Japanese Pacific Coast, Tsuna's house is now flooded.

KIMURA: It's totally messed. I went to see it. I couldn't even enter the house. It's totally messed.

TUCHMAN: Everyone in the shelter is, of course, also consumed by the frightening nuclear reactor drama. The situation has special significance for the older people here who remember the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tsuna was a teenager then.

KIMURA: This reminds me of it. Very much so.

TUCHMAN: Tsuna has two children, but doesn't want to be a burden to them. She wants to live on her own, but --

KIMURA: I have no idea what I will do next or where I will go.

TUCHMAN: Tsuna Kimura is strong and proud. Something you might expect of a woman who escaped the tsunami on her bicycle.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Hachinohe, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks for being with me this afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.

Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, have a great afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.