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CNN Sunday Morning

Continued Reporting of the Situation in Japan; Remarks by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary

Aired March 13, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

YUKIO EDANO, JAPAN'S CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY (through translator): And the second point is that about transport of food and water. Just as the prime minister said, we are working very hard on this.

However, particularly in the coastal areas, it's really difficult to transport food and water to these areas. And on this, we are trying to come up with various measures and methods to -- so that we can deliver necessary food to the residents as quickly as possible. And I'm sure we will be -- we will be able to deal about this in the immediate future.

And, thirdly, it is about the number three reactor in Fukushima power plant. And a short while ago, they have started the seawater injection into the reactor, and the level of water has risen, and it has risen for a certain level. But then, it seems that the gauge is not showing that level of water is going up. However, the supply of water continues. And so, we do not know what to make of this fact.

Yesterday, ever since the explosion in the number one reactor, the situation like this is continuing. Now, number three reactor valve might be showing some failure. And the failure in the valve has to be solved. And the air pressure inside has to be lowered, and we're working on that.

And currently the radiation monitor hasn't shown any change.

And so, so that was the latest situation of the Fukushima power plant number three -- reactor number three. That's all.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (through translator): I am (INAUDIBLE). First, the prime minister sent the message, but he didn't receive any questions. Why? ODP Leader (INAUDIBLE) met and Mr. Edano was not with them. The prime minister left just by a giving message without taking any questions.

EDANO: We wanted to send a message to the Japanese people we just -- we think is very important. But at the same time, as you are fully aware of, in all of the fields, we're doing our best to handle these disasters. And we wanted to explain the details well.

So, the power supply was the main topic, we wanted to cover, and the ministers in charge will make a report, to take questions. And the sections in charge, and the dated numbers and data will be announced by the sections in charge and also the task force. So, under these circumstances, Japanese people are greatly affected by the crisis, so the prime minister himself wanted to make a request directly to the Japanese people.

But as to the questions and answers, the ministers in charge decided to take the questions, to answer the question. So, please understand.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (through): I am from Nippon (ph) TV. I have a question on the number three reactor in Fukushima. The water level is not going up according to the gauge. The water system is broken, or is there a new water leakage? Is there anything of concern happening right now at the number three reactor in Fukushima nuclear power plant?

EDANO: Yesterday, as to the number one reactor, the water gauge was not functioning, and then we pumped water. Regardless of the water system, we were creating a situation to fill the container with water. As to the other situations, the experts are analyzing the details right now. At the same time, one of the reasons and the possibilities is as follows: the malfunctioning of the valve to remove the air. And we are trying to resolve the situation right now.

During the news conference --

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ANCHOR: The Japanese government says it is going to bring in rolling power outages across the country. That includes in the capital, Tokyo, to deal with the shortage of power caused by the problems at the plant on your screen there in Fukushima. They say radiation levels remain high there. Seawater continues to be pumped in. And as a result of the loss of power, there will be rolling power outages.

The Prime Minister Naoto Kan, speaking a little earlier at that press conference, said Japan is facing the toughest crisis it has since the Second World War, and asking the community and people to bond together to get over this current crisis.

You're watching CNN, our special coverage of the disaster in Japan. We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: On alert in Japan. Millions who made it through a quake and tsunami are now worrying about a nuclear meltdown. You are looking at one of the nuclear power plants damaged in the disaster.

Hello. I'm Randi Kaye at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

STEVENS: And I'm Andrew Stevens, joining you from Hong Kong. Welcome to special coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

KAYE: We have correspondents covering all angles of the story. Stan Grant is in Tokyo, tracking the potential for meltdowns at two nuclear reactors. Anna Coren in Shinomaki, and Kyung Lah is in Sendai, the largest city near the epicenter of the quake. Gary Tuchman is in Minamisanriku, where practically half the residents, some 9,500 people, are missing. And Matthew Chance is in Moscow, checking with the International Atomic Energy Commission. STEVENS: Well, the scope of the destruction for this quake and the tsunami is making rescue operations extremely difficult. Families and friends have been separated. Many are now desperate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My husband hasn't come here yet. He left the home a little later than me. Our house was swept away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm looking for my son's wife. I have no idea which shelter she is in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My son might have been engulfed by the tsunami. I hope he's taking shelter somewhere. I'm struggling to locate him.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

STEVENS: Dislocation across a massive scale across the quake and tsunami. And Japan's meteorological agency said today that the worst may not be over. There's a good chance that a magnitude 7.0 or even bigger in the next three days, Randi.

KAYE: Also in Japan, more than 9,000 people in a single city remain unaccounted for. Minamisanriku, a small seaside town, just about 45 miles northeast of Sendai, was close to the epicenter of the quake and nearly took a direct hit. Paula Hancocks is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the town of Minamisanriku, and it's just north of Sendai. And it's extremely badly hit.

We have heard local media reports that around, about half of the residents are missing, as you say. It's a town that did have 18,000 citizens. So, that would mean about 9,500 people are still missing.

Let me get out of shot so you can have a look how badly this area is damaged. Now, where we're standing here is right on the edge of town. You can see just a couple of houses still standing because we're about 3.3 kilometers away from the sea, that's almost two miles from the coastline.

So, you can have a sense there of just how strong this tsunami was, to be able to destroy houses completely to this level. There's boats that have actually ridden on the tsunami and come all the way up here.

Just behind one of the houses still standing, there's a huge truck that was carried on the wave all the way up this far as well, 3.3 kilometers.

Now, as I say, there were 18,000 residents here. We spoke to a couple of them that have come back to see what's left of their homes and try to start the impossible cleanup. But they say that they ran when they heard the tsunami warning. One woman says she knows some of the neighbors stayed in their homes when there was the tsunami warning. So, inevitably, they would not have survived. It's impossible to see how many could have survived in those houses.

Now, we understand that search and rescue teams are still going. According to local reports, they have actually pulled out 42 survivors this Sunday morning. Now, we can't confirm that with the police at this point. The police here are not saying much. But this is what local residents and local media are saying.

So, it is still very much a search and rescue mission. We understand that they have found a couple of very badly injured people further down towards the shore. At this point, they haven't brought them out, though.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And we are starting to get more video as power slowly returns to parts of Japan.

STEVENS: And, Randi, what's different about this tsunami, compared to what happened in the Asian tsunami when more than 200,000 people lost their lives back in 2004, there is so much video capturing the ferocity of the tsunami as it roars in pretty much across the whole zone. I mean, we didn't see the damage.

We saw the aftereffects of the tsunami. And these are the sort of pictures we're seeing in Japan. They -- you know, we've seen these pictures several times. They just do not lose their impact.

It is -- frankly, horrifying watching the power and strength of that water rushing through that port town there. Just nothing can stand in its way. There are big, big boats there being swept and crushed under bridges, a giant wave of black water. Cars looking like toys.

You know, it's just relentless, watching this. And none of these images. We didn't really get a sense of the scale of the power and ferocity in the Asian tsunami. This is what it looks like. This is what a tsunami is.

KAYE: Right. There we mainly saw the aftermath. Here we were able to see it as it's happening which is so frightening.

You see houses getting battered. We have video of that. Electric poles -- I mean, you can see this 23-foot wave that came storming through just crashed right through these homes. The homes are sinking, the people scattering. Can you just imagine, Andrew, the fear as this came rolling through?

STEVENS: Exactly. Where do you run to? How do you hide? How do you escape something like that?

And also what is surprising, Randi, is the number of people who had the presence of mind to keep their iPod or whatever they were filming on, keep it rolling and keeping it sort of focusing on recording this because it must have been overwhelming fear that these people were feeling at this stage and to continue to shoot is extraordinary.

Let's take a look at the situation at Sendai airport. Now, Sendai is a city of about a million or so people. It's being described as almost the epicenter of the quake-hit zone, although we are hearing more and more stories of some of the smaller towns further north being absolutely devastated. That's the same shooting through the passenger terminal out onto the airport.

I mean, just look at the damage. Look at the torrent of water flowing across that. That is a runway you're looking at there, Randi.

KAYE: And if you think about this -- this is about 80 miles or so northeast of Tokyo. They felt it in Tokyo. But here, they are getting the -- they had the earthquake and, of course, the water as well. The airport was turned into an island really. If you take a look at this -- look at that, again, the water pushing whatever it picked up in its path.

Do you see those -- that airplane, right there, actually a couple of airplanes there in the front of your screen just went by. They picked up airplanes, cars, debris, and people there, it's amazing that they stuck around, even with the warnings as we said, took the video, but then also stood there to watch this roll through from higher ground, as we just saw. But that had to be so powerful, of course, to be able to push airplanes and cars and whatever else in its path.

Meanwhile, the first task in Japan was simply to survive the country's most powerful earthquake ever. Well, now, comes the next job -- digging out of that rubble and that mess that we were just showing you. Live to Japan, as our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Help for Japan is coming in from right around the world, including the United States. Search and rescue team from Fairfax, Virginia, just touched down earlier in morning at the Misawa Air Base, just north of the hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture where thousands remain missing.

But the assistance isn't from the U.S. As I said, also arriving this morning, this search and rescue team from nearby China.

KAYE: And now to another relief mission happening right now in the disaster zone. We're just getting word that the USS Ronald Reagan has begun rescue and relief operations off the Japanese coast.

CNN's Brian Todd is with one civilian search and rescue crew and he joins us now by the phone.

Brian, tell us what these guys can do and why they are so critical to the rescue efforts?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Randi, they've got some capabilities that are very unique to these types of jobs.

And these guys are very well-versed and well-experienced in conducting these kinds of rescue missions. They have been to Haiti for the earthquake there. They've been to Turkey for the earthquakes that have occurred there, and many other places. Also, they -- the team from Los Angeles just came from New Zealand as well.

So, they are -- they are very well versed in this. They got some unique equipment. Now, they got the array of what you would think, jackhammers, heavy saws -- other things like that that can cut through rubble. But they've also got the sensory cameras and listening devices they can lower into the rubble. And they got K-9 teams as well that really are effective in finding traces of human life

And they're very eager to push into the area now. We just landed a couple of hours ago, waiting to get orders to exactly where they are needed most and where they're needed first.

KAYE: And do you think you might head to the Sendai area which is near the epicenter? And how big of a group are you?

TODD: We think we'll go at least toward that area, if not right into that area. There may be some outlying areas that may need help more urgently. But we're going to find that out probably in the next few hours.

The group is about 150 people strong, and, you know, with all of the equipment that I mentioned, it was a huge logistical undertaking to get it from Fairfax, Virginia, to L.A., to pick up that team, and then to Alaska to refuel and that here. Everybody is kind of tired but very, very eager to get into the zone.

KAYE: You know, as we look at the damage, Brian, I'm just wondering -- have you been given any word on the situation on the roads, or what it's going to be like for your team to get around? Because it's -- I mean, I know yesterday, all of our crews had trouble getting anywhere. They were going I think one mile per hour.

So, any thoughts or concerns about that on trying to help these people?

TODD: Yes, there are a lot of concerns about that, Randi. The roads are not consistent as you know. You just said there are problems with the road as far as -- some of the roads are actually split in some places. The physical pavement is split apart.

There are, you know, accidents. There are long traffic lines. There are lines for gas. That's complicating the effort to get in there.

There was a consideration of possibly taking us in by helicopter. There may not be enough helicopters to lift this whole group in there. So, I think the plan now is to try to drive and we're gong to be pushing off soon to try to do that.

KAYE: I -- we can't pull ourselves away from these pictures of these crushed homes. So, I just have to ask you -- I mean, how do -- how does this team feel? I know they send the dogs in first, which is probably safest. But how do they feel about going into these homes that really could collapse at any moment on them, or going into these buildings and going through all of that rubble which just looks so dangerous?

TODD: You know, they certainly don't seem daunted by it. I mean, I'm around these guys 24/7 and they look at it as a badge of honor. That's their job.

A lot of them, most of them are firemen anyway. They're used to this kind of thing. They had to have really some elite training to get onto these rescue teams, which they've got.

So, they are very well-prepared and they don't seem concerned at all. These guys know how to do this, and they are a little frustrated that they haven't been able to get there so far.

KAYE: Yes, I'm sure. Well, when they do get there, it's going to be a welcome sight for anyone who might still be there waiting for them.

All right. Brian Todd, thank you.

Andrew, to you.

STEVENS: Thanks, Randi.

Certainly,, looking at the devastation, the pictures we've seen in Japan, they're going to need all of the training they've got.

We're going to take a quick look at some of the other big stories breaking around the world when we come back, including a new development in the Amanda Knox murder case. First, a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Welcome back.

Let's check some of our other top stories now.

And the Arab League is unanimously backing a no-fly zone on Libya. Oman's foreign minister said Saturday the league is also asking the U.S. -- excuse me, the United Nations Security Council to impose a no- fly resolution.

Amanda Knox appeared in an Italian court as she began an appeal of her 2009 murder conviction. Knox and her then-boyfriend were convicted of murdering Knox's roommate. But she has maintained her innocence. Knox's lawyers are trying to refute the testimony of a homeless man who said he saw Knox near their apartment the night the murder took place.

In the United States, rivers and streams in New Jersey keep swelling, especially in the northern part of the state, after a storm soaked the area. Some parts of the state received as much as five inches of rain. The worst of the flooding has been in Pompton Lakes and Pompton Plains -- Randi.

KAYE: On alert across Japan, could there be a nuclear meltdown? We are watching that after explosion at a nuclear plant. And fears today that there could be another blast. Keep it here and we'll keep you informed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our worldwide audience back to the coverage of the disaster in Japan. I'm Randi Kaye.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Andrew Stevens. Thanks for joining us.

KAYE: We heard from Japan's prime minister just a few minutes ago. And he gave us an update on the devastation from the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan and the crippling of several of the country's nuclear reactors. He called it the country's worst crisis since World War II.

The situation with the nuclear reactors is adding to power problems for the rest of the country. Millions are still without electricity.

Take a listen to what the prime minister said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOTO KAN, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Many power plants have been damaged. And Tokyo electric power plant and other power plants are in short supply of the power, especially in Tohoku. So, the government has instructed the utmost efforts to those two power companies to get the supply from other power companies. And, also, we'd like to ask the industries, as well as ordinary households to save energy and power.

However, we do not know when those facilities will be restored. So, in this situation, we could fall into shortage of power. And if this situation remains like this, we could fall into power outage in a wide area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: In the coastal areas, some 12,000 people have already been rescued in the aftermath of the earthquake and the tsunami.

We want to take to you Gary Tuchman. He is on the ground in the community of Minamisanriku.

Gary, are you with us? What can you tell us about the area? I'm not sure if you're actually still there or if you've already just been there?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Randi, we left a short time ago. I've got to tell you, it's very disturbing what we saw there. It's a town of about 20,000 people that has been completely pulverized by not the earthquake, but by the tsunami.

And the reason we know that -- from years of covering disasters I can tell you that -- is because when you leave the town limits, there's absolutely no damage whatsoever. We drove like 75 miles from the west coast of Japan to east coast of Japan where this damage is. We saw almost no damage whatsoever, until we got to this town, and almost everything is flattened.

About 20,000 people live there, there are undoubtedly fatalities. We don't know how many of those.

There are thousands of people unaccounted. That doesn't mean they're dead. That doesn't mean they are all hurt. It just might mean we don't know where they are right now.

But the fact is, there are bodies under this rubble. There were lots of people who were injured. They have -- it's already believed they've already taken all of them out.

As far as recovering bodies of people in the rubble, that is not taking place yet. They want to make sure all of the survivors are out of there.

But what happened was the tsunami waters just flowed over this town and knocked everything off its path. You see houses on top of cars. You see motor homes that were flung into trees. And it really, really was quite disturbing.

They've closed off the area to the general public. They are allowing residents to go back to their home. But while they were there, they actually had something they're saying is called the tsunami warning. Alarms are going off because they thought the possibility of another tsunami coming.

So, there were certainly some terror and anxiety among the residents who survived the first tsunami when they had to leave the town when there was this alarm and these tsunami warnings. So, it's a very anxiety-provoking time, Randi.

KAYE: People are coming back to see what might be left of their homes, if anything?

TUCHMAN: Right. Well, they're not only allowing people back, but they have a school that's serving as a shelter for food and for sleep in the area. So, they're allowing people to go back not only to see their residence, which there's very -- most of the residences are gone, but also to stay at the shelter. But like I said, they had to ask all of the people to leave when this alarm went off and they had what they call the tsunami warning.

KAYE: And just really quickly, Gary, how far is this from the sea? I'm just curious how far these waters traveled in to do this type of damage to one town?

TUCHMAN: Yes, the damage is three miles away from the Pacific Ocean. But when you go four miles away from the Pacific Ocean -- no damage whatsoever.

KAYE: Amazing.

All right, our Gary Tuchman there, watching the destruction in this one town that seems to have lost possibly more than half its population.

Thank you, Gary.

Andrew, to you in Hong Kong.

STEVENS: Yes, thanks, Randi.

We're going to back to a story that could be developing into another major crisis in Japan. It's certainly a big worry for the Japanese right now. Two nuclear plants are in trouble and whether or not the country could be on verge of a disaster there.

Well, earlier this morning, I spoke with a nuclear energy expert out of London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM GRIMSTON, ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: It's worth stressing that the explosion that we saw yesterday -- this is going to sound a very strange thing to say but it's my belief. The explosion that we saw yesterday in the number one plant wasn't a terribly important event in the -- in the overall thing.

I think we have a reasonable understanding as to why it happened. It was because they had released gases from the central -- what they call the pressure vessel, the most important part of the safety systems of the plant, which is where the radioactive material -- most of the radioactive material is kept, pressure was building up in that. It was quite likely to be some hydrogen in that mixture -- so they released that.

And when the hydrogen and oxygen formed a mixture in that building, there was always the possibility that that explode. That didn't cause any damage to the important parts of the plant. And the same would apply if there is such an explosion at number three plant. That of itself has little effect on overall course of the action.

The most important thing is getting cooling water into the middle of the reactor itself. But there are no circumstances in which we're talking about a Chernobyl here. Chernobyl happened with the plant still operating actually because of a design flaw at several hundred times it's normal operating power. And there was a big explosion right in the very center of the reactor where the fuel was. They have fragments of fuel, 150, 250 meters away from the plant and an enormous release of radioactive material.

That's -- we're 48 hours past the point where the nuclear fission stopped here. Actually, a lot of very worst of the radioactivity will have died away. We're still several days away from safety. But my belief at the moment is that the response has been both proportionate and efficient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now, workers have been pouring seawater into the reactor to cool those fuel rods. More than 200,000 people who live near the plant have now been evacuated. About 160 are being tested for possible exposure to radioactive material -- Randi.

KAYE: The ongoing crisis in Japan is closely watched by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is live on the phone from our Moscow bureau with more on this story.

Matthew, what can you tell us?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just that the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, is in close coordination with the Japanese nuclear authorities on the ground. They're obviously taking the lead on this.

The IAEA says it's got two main functions. It's based in Vienna, the Austrian capital. It's very distant from the situation in Japan. But it is being used as a major resource by member states of the IAEA, various countries in the U.N. that look to the IAEA for authoritative information about what the situation is actually on the ground. And so they are distributing the kind of details that they have about the situation.

They haven't issued a release, in fact, in the past 12 hours, because they are careful any information they get from the Japanese, they are careful first to verify it through their own teams, their own personnel on the ground and their own experts in-house.

But they have given us some detail that we haven't necessarily gotten from Japanese themselves. That's, for instance, the number of injuries at the explosion yesterday at the Fukushima nuclear reactor. They're saying on their latest statement that one worker was exposed to higher than normal radiation levels in that situation.

Another worker had died at the plant, but it says that wasn't a nuclear-related death. He died in a crane accident. Other people have been injured as well according to these statements.

That's one of their functions. The other function of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, is to provide Japan with any assistance it can give them. We're talking about experts in the field, nuclear scientists, possibly engineers who could go to Japan and help fix the problem. At the moment, our understanding is that from our conversations with the U.N. agency that no such request for expertise has been made by the Japanese, Randi.

KAYE: We'll have to see if that comes in the next few hours or days ahead. Matthew Chance for us -- thank you, Matthew.

Andrew?

STEVENS: Randi, even though Japan is one of the richest countries in the world, it certainly needs international support in dealing with so many critical issues that now faces it. Now, one of the issues is food. There's more evidence that Japan is, indeed in crisis.

Take a look. Food is running out at grocery stores, store shelves are pretty bare. We're going to be talking live with a survivor in a couple of minutes. So, now, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

STEVENS: Extraordinary graphic scenes coming from the worst of the tsunami hit zone.

Tokyo, meanwhile, to the south, was mostly spared the intensity of the tsunami and certainly of the earthquake as well. Now, the city was affected on Friday. It returns to work this Monday.

Let's go to CNN iReporter Jessica Tekawa now. She joins us from Tokyo.

Jessica, there was disruption in Tokyo on Friday. The city, as I said, is getting ready for work today. How is the city to you? Is it back to normal?

JESSICA TEKAWA, IREPORTER: It is back to normal. There's people in the streets. There's people working even today in the stores. But there is a sense of getting ready for something --

STEVENS: What sort of thing

TEKAWA: -- either to prepare for another earthquake or for the power outages.

STEVENS: Right. Right. Do you know -- do most of your -- the people you know, will they be going to work tomorrow? They'll be getting on with their lives?

TEKAWA: Yes. They will be. Yes.

And the trains are working again. It's been going -- we are very, very, very dependent on our train system. So, it's been very crowded in the streets.

Outside my apartment, there's been traffic going all day, like almost -- traffic has been almost stopped, which is very unusual. Normally, it's empty. Normally, people are not using their cars. Now, they're using their buses. And it seems like people are a little afraid to use the trains.

STEVENS: Yes, I can fully understand that.

Now, the thing is, Japan and Tokyo obviously is as earthquake-prone zone. Anybody who visits Tokyo will know that they have always run that risk of being hit by an earthquake. Do you think this one, though, has been really different in the psyche of the people who live in Tokyo? Has this one had much more impact than the others before it?

TEKAWA: Definitely. Yes. Definitely.

I think -- at least for me personally, and I know from a few of my friends they have been talking to. It's been very hard to sleep at night because images of people, especially in Sendai, and people we personally know that have not been able to find or get in contact with family members, it's been difficult to sleep -- to continue to go on normally.

Everyone is very good at going on normally and we have a spirit of going on, which is persevering, and persevering through anything, but I think, inside, there is definitely nervousness -- a sense of nervousness.

STEVENS: Jessica, there have been reports that there are food shortages in parts of Japan. Obviously, in the worst affected areas. Excuse me. What about in Tokyo? Have you been aware of food shortages?

TEKAWA: I don't feel a great concern. There are definitely items that are missing. I was really surprised when I went to the grocery store, and I found that all of the rice -- not all of it, a lot of the rice is gone, all the bread is gone, all of the eggs gone, toilet paper, water -- bottled water and flashlights. Those are all gone.

But there's other things that are there. But certain items, you definitely cannot find.

STEVENS: Yes. I was going to ask you. I mean, does that worry you, to walk into a shop and see vegetables aren't there, bottled water particularly?

TEKAWA: Yes. And I feel like because everyone is getting these items, it makes me feel like I need to get these items too. But then, I don't know if I really need it.

I'm actually preparing to go to a conference tomorrow with Campus Crusade for Christ. We're having a conference and we're all going to be gathering together. This has been planned for a long time. And so, there, there's going to be water and food.

If there is to be any more natural disasters or contamination to happen, I feel like we'll be protected there. So, I personally haven't been stocking up on food and groceries and stuff because I'm going to be traveling tomorrow.

STEVENS: OK. All right, Jessica, listen, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate you talking to us here at CNN.

Our iReporter Jessica Tekawa joining us from Tokyo -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Randi, all morning, as you know, we've been showing the pictures and sharing pictures with our viewers and incredible video out of Japan. We're talking about food shortages, we're talking water shortages and just terrible conditions for the victims there.

So, we want to show you how you can help if you're moved to help. Just go to our Web site, CNN.com/impact. That's our "Impact Your World" Web site. You can find organizations there, give anything you want to try and help these people who are now struggling in Japan. We'll take a quick break and be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We have been focusing a lot on Japan, but the clean-up on the U.S. West Coast continues as well. The National Weather Service has canceled its tsunami advisory for the California coast and the damage assessment has now begun.

In Crescent City, California, the surge reached eight feet when a tsunami came ashore, damaging or sinking dozens of boats. The damage estimated there to be in the millions of dollars.

And in nearby Santa Cruz, the surge knocked boats off their moorings, sinking an estimated 20 to 30 of them and damaging hundreds more. One county official estimating the damage to the harbor itself and surrounding property to be at least $3 million. California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in several coastal counties.

STEVENS: Let's take a quick look now at some of our other top stories.

The Arab League is unanimously backing a no-fly zone on Libya. Oman's foreign minister said on Saturday that the league is also asking the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly resolution.

Amanda Knox appeared in an Italian court as she began an appeal of her 2009 murder conviction. Knox and heir then-boyfriend were convicted of murdering Knox's roommate. But she's maintained her innocence. Knox's lawyers are trying to refute the testimony of a homeless man who said he saw Knox near their apartment the night the murder took place.

And in the U.S., rivers and streams in New Jersey keep swelling, particularly in the northern part of the state, after a storm soaked the area. Some parts of the state received as much as five inches of rain. The worst of the flooding has been in Pompton Lakes and Pompton Plains.

Well, when it comes to telling the tsunami story, there's no better reporter than you.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. This is Crescent City harbor. Boats are broken free. Almost every vessel is broken free. These boats are just going by themselves.

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STEVENS: Reynolds Wolf brings you some extraordinary iReports in two minutes from now. Stay with us.

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KAYE: IReports are coming in fast and furious from the disaster zone.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf has some of the most telling one to share with us now.

What do you have, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's amazing stuff. You know, although we do tell this story with some great anchors, reporters, producers and writers, perhaps one of the best ways to really convey what's happening is with contribution of viewers that we have that are actually there in the damage zone.

Let's go right to it and get things started with Cris Williams. Cris Williams from Tokyo was visiting family. He's a 15-year-old American citizen visiting from Hawaii.

He was relaxing with friends and family when disaster struck. See everything shaking in this apartment building. In fact, everyone ran for safety under door frames and tables. He said it was almost fun at the beginning then he had fear the entire building would collapse. That's a reasonable fear.

Let's go from that spot to another part and to another Christopher -- Christopher Marrs in Tokyo Disney sends this contribution. Chris is 29-year-old American visiting from California. This was taken near Toontown and FutureLand.

You can see, everyone just huddling, trying to take cover. Not really believing what's going on, complete pandemonium. You can hear some kids.

Now, at this point, Chris Marrs has regrouped with his family. They're now staying safe at Yosuka (ph) Naval Base.

Now, we're going to finish up with another contribution that is not in the western Pacific but in eastern Pacific, to be more pacific, from Crescent city, California. This was sent in by Vic Markytan.

Now, Vic is from Crescent City. He is a diving contractor. His job is to clean up the harbor.

Where do you start? Take a look at -- these boats. Some of these things are very expensive, just bashing into each other. Big mess. There's a lot of things that are below the water. You don't see all kinds of wreckage.

But as bad as this is, Randi, there's no comparison that the roughest stuff, certainly the biggest tragedy in Japan.

KAYE: Yes. And Tokyo Disney, that's probably some pretty scary moments for people who might have been on the rides there.

WOLF: No question.

KAYE: Yes. All right. Reynolds, thank you.

Andrew?

STEVENS: The prime minister of Japan calls it the country's worst crisis since the Second World War. We'll continue our special coverage of the disaster in just a moment.

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