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CNN Saturday Morning News

Special Coverage: Quake Tsunami Disaster; Explosion Reported at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Plant; Rescue Efforts Underway in Sendai, City Only 18 Miles From Epicenter; U.S. Military Mobilizing in Effort to Bring Supplies, Help Injured; Examining the Medical Concerns Associated With Large Disasters

Aired March 12, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: More than 24 hours after the worst earthquake in Japan's history, the scope of the disaster is shocking and still unfolding. The one-two punch of the tremors and the tsunami has left a landscape of collapsed buildings and submerged towns. The death toll is climbing.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And there's a dangerous new threat as well, an explosion and leak from one of Japan's damaged nuclear power plants.

The world is watching, waiting and ready to help.

KAYE: From CNN Center, it is March 12th. I'm Randi Kaye in Atlanta.

STEVENS: I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. We'd like to welcome viewers in the United States and around the world to our special coverage of the disaster in Japan.

Well, Japan is struggling with this devastating natural disaster. Nighttime has fallen there and at the heart of the quake, the northeastern city of Sendai, search efforts have stopped for the night. Japan is 14 hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time.

Now, there's been dozens of aftershocks after the 8.9 quake and massive tsunami on Japan's northeastern coast. At least 900 people are dead, 700 more are still missing. We don't know right now how many are injured.

Rescue efforts are tough, though, because of the aftershocks, more than 180 since yesterday. Highways in the northeast damaged and utility services -- water, electricity are all out.

The devastation, well, it's almost unbelievable. A tsunami more than 23 feet high washed over the Japanese coastline, traveling six miles inland. This is the largest quake in recorded history to hit Japan, the seventh largest worldwide since recordkeeping begun.

And we have correspondents in Japan right now and more headed there to bring you everything you need to know about this story.

In just a couple minutes, the latest from Sendai, the city of about a million people, 18 miles from the quake's epicenter -- Randi.

KAYE: But, first, we are watching a dangerous situation with two nuclear energy plants damaged by the quake. An explosion occurred earlier today at one of the plants in the Fukushima Prefecture. Also, the cooling system for three of four reactors at another plant in Fukushima failed.

CNN's Stan Grant has been talking with Japan's nuclear agency and he joins us now from Tokyo.

Stan, what is the status right now with the situation at those plants? Because a lot of people are very concerned.

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely concerned, Randi. You know, this is unchartered territory. You're talking not just about the earthquake situation. But now, it's a knock on effect with these nuclear reactors unable to control the heating inside the reactors and that's what's causing a lot of this concern now.

Let me bring you up to date about this explosion. Now, we've been talking about this explosion for the fast few hours. Four people injured when the explosion at one of these plants, one of the reactors. What I can tell you now hearing from nuclear safety agency here about what caused that.

Let me just give you a bit of indication now. We're talking an outside containment, cement container, if you like that. Inside that, there is a steel casing protecting the nuclear fuel.

Now, what happened here, there was pressure inside that casing. They released some of the pressure from that and there was a hydrogen buildup in the outer container, the cement container. And that's what caused the explosion. It was a hydrogen explosion.

Now, that, of course, has injured four people. And we are looking to see exactly what the extent of those injuries will be.

This explosion has raised concern (AUDIO BREAK) radioactive material being released into the air. And we know it, the government has admitted today that some radioactive material has been released into the air. They are saying it is a low-level and no threat to anyone.

But the exclusion zone has steadily been increased. First, it was a mile or so. Then, it moved to six miles, 10 kilometers. It is now being doubled, 12 miles to 13 miles, about 20 kilometers. An indication, Randi, of the ongoing concern here, situation that they are monitoring hour-by-hour and certainly, the tension has been rising hour-by-hour as well.

KAYE: Yes. And, Stan, since yesterday, we have been talking about these problems with the cooling systems. So, if it's not fixed yet, can you give us an idea, have you learned anything, about how difficult it is going to be to handle these problems? GRANT: It has been really difficult. Now, it's 24 hours more than that since the quake hit. We know that that affected the power supply to the reactors. And that's what caused the problem with the coolant.

It basically works like this. Water must be kept at a certain level to keep it cool because those reactors generate so much heat, it's that heat that then turns into steam and is converted into electricity. When that water drops, you expose the reactor, that's when it stops to heats up. And what they've been trying to do is pump more water into there to get it to a certain level to cool that reactor.

Now, there has been concern about melting of the outer casing of that fuel rod. They have been talking about the cesium, the radioactive material that has been released. And that's usually an indication there's been damage to (AUDIO BREAK) and to have melting of the fuel.

What they need to do is to get more water in there to cool that reactor. And that's been their problem. They have not been able to achieve that in the 24 hours since they first were alerted of the issue -- Randi.

KAYE: Stan Grant watching the nuclear plant situation for us. Stan, appreciate it -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Randi, as we're watching that developing story developing minute-by-minute on the nuclear plant, we also need to talk about people still trying to dig their way out and restore their lives after what happened just a little bit more than 30 hours ago.

Now, our Kyung Lah is making her way to Sendai in northeastern Japan. We are going to talk a lot about this city. It's the closest big city to the epicenter of the quake.

Now, Kyung is on the way, the going is pretty tough there because of damage to the highways in the region. At one point, they had gone only about one mile in one hour.

Now, Kyung reports from one community where rescuers are trying to reach several families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the things that we've been looking for are the stories along the way as we try to make it up to the area that is hardest hit, that area hit by the tsunami and we found one.

This is a city called Shirakawa. And in this city, there's a tight-knit community, a neighborhood called Hanokidaira (ph).

You can see some of the houses of this -- it really does look like a small little community. You can see these three houses right here. What you can't see behind those three houses are eight houses. Those eight houses, more than 24 hours ago, 25 hours ago, when that earthquake struck, were completely buried by heavy land. There was a huge landslide according to the people who live here. Earth came sliding down.

And now, 25 hours later, take a look over my right shoulder as Jiro (ph) zooms in what you're looking at there, heavy machinery digging.

There are 13 people buried alive. There are children among the missing.

The hope is, from these rescuers that they may be in their houses, maybe trapped in the void. But as you can see there, that mud and dirt is heavy. It is wet.

This is a massive challenge. And 25 hours later, the people in this community say they haven't found a single person.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The U.S. military has a major presence in and around Japan, and it's mobilizing ships and aircraft to help the relief effort. This is Navy personnel aboard the USS Blue Ridge loading supplies, as you can see there, for the victims.

Let's get some latest from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. She joins us by phone.

Now, Barbara, can you give us the latest on the efforts by the United States to help?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Randi and Andrew, you know, eight U.S. Navy warships have, over the last several hours, assembling, making their way towards Japan. They have helicopters on board which will be crucial to the relief effort.

And at this point, the -- pardon me -- the entire U.S. Navy 7th Fleet on alert to help if need, if ordered. The first humanitarian supplies loaded onto the USS Blue Ridge in Singapore yesterday. The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan expected in Japan shortly to be able to lend a hand.

But let's just take a look at the big picture for a minute because I think a lot of people may wonder with tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed already in Japan, why isn't the U.S. military, right away, flying into action, trying to help survivors, trying to help with the relief effort?

Of course, they are in support of the Japanese forces. Japan is a sovereign country with its own very capable forces leading the relief effort, working with the international community that's trying to help prioritizing, really. The U.S. military will work on behalf of the Japanese. They will set the priorities and the U.S. military will help carry them out. You know, think of it this way, a U.S. helicopter may look down and see an area in terrible shape and want to drop off aid, but, in fact, there may be another community just a few miles down the road that's in bigger trouble. So, it's all about the priorities. It's all about getting the aid, the help where it's needed most as quickly as possible -- Randi.

KAYE: And Japan knows its territory best, the people there. So, waiting and asking for the U.S. for help when they need it certainly makes sense.

In terms of the rescue effort, Barbara, I spoke with someone from the Red Cross earlier and he said it's so difficult there getting to the people, looking for the people because of all the water. But the U.S. military trains for this. They know how to do this.

STARR: Right. I mean, absolutely. And sadly, we, of course, have seen this many times before -- Hurricane Katrina in the United States, the Pakistani earthquake, the Asian tsunami back in 2004. You know, the U.S. military trained for search and rescue operations in combat. And, of course, they do it in Afghanistan, in combat zones. But they do it so many times in these international humanitarian relief efforts.

It is the helicopters -- it's the heavy lift helicopters that really are on the front line of this because they can come of the Navy ship, drop off supplies, help with some reconstruction, drop off A- teams, pick up people who are wounded, take them to medical care.

And the key thing is: the helicopters go back to their own ships for resupply for their own crews and all of that. They don't have to take resources from Japan itself. They don't, you know, land and spend the night. So, they are the lowest profile with the biggest return, the biggest benefit that the U.S. military can offer -- Randi.

KAYE: All right. Barbara Starr for us -- Barbara, thank you so much.

Food, medicine and water, survivors of the disaster in Japan certainly need aid and they need it now.

STEVENS: But the big problem is getting the supplies is a very complicated mission. We'll find out why it's proving so difficult to get them the need -- the help that they need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Rescue and recovery -- they are the two most important words in the aftermath of Japan's killer earthquake and tsunami. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen breaks down some of the immediate challenges facing those trying to treat survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, there are so many health concerns as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami.

First of all, of course, is the worry about those people who are crushed. Now, as we saw in Haiti, people can be survived for longer than had previously thought and hopefully in the days to come, they will be able to rescue people who are crushed under debris.

Second of all, there's a concern about the weather. It's winter in Japan. It's quite cold. And there are concerns that hypothermia could be setting in for anyone who might have survived.

And then, lastly, there are those more long-term health concerns. For example, how are they going to get clean water? Of course, the water system is in disarray right now. Sanitation, what's going to happen there? How are they going to get supplies to people out in this rural area?

Those are just some of the things they are going to need to think about as the recovery continues -- Randi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: All right. Thank you, Elizabeth.

OK. So, we just heard from Elizabeth what the health concerns are. So, how do they handle those concerns?

Well, Dr. Kimberly Manning is assistant professor of medicine in Emory University Medical School here in Atlanta.

And thank you so much for coming in -- because we do want to talk about these medical concerns.

One of the biggest concerns I think would be water and what might be in it while these people are trying to survive.

DR. KIMBERLY MANNING, EMORY UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL: Well, when the water is interrupted like this, then you're really at risk for water-borne illnesses and different types of bacteria getting into the water because it's stagnant. And, really, the issue becomes things like cholera like what we saw in Haiti, hepatitis A and many different types of infections you can really see in the water. Also, when water is stagnant, it really starts to draw in insects. So, an issue also becomes mosquito-borne illnesses, Japanese encephalitis, which is something that really could be an issue in Asia.

KAYE: And how do they treat -- we saw so much of this in Haiti and in Indonesia, but people losing their limbs in Haiti as they make these rescue efforts in the field, probably trapped in some water. What are the first things that they should look for on people who might be severely injured?

MANNING: Well, what you really want to make sure is something that we called the ABCs, airway, breathing and circulation. And with regard to limbs, really want to make sure that the circulation is appropriate. With crush injuries and with these fractures, because there's often limited access to care, the reason you see so many amputations is because infection starts to set in because time has gone by. Immediately, you need to really try to make sure that there's appropriate circulation. You need to stabilize the lesion or stabilize the wound, and get the person somewhere where they can get surgical intervention without delay.

KAYE: And are at all concern -- or would you be at all concerned about hypothermia? Because we see our correspondents there in the region and they're wearing coats. It's cold. There's a wind chill factor there.

MANNING: Yes. And hypothermia is something that's certainly is a major issue in this situation, particularly with people who could be immersed in water for long periods of time. So, you know, that becomes a really tough thing. And finding things that aren't wet that can bring people's body temperature up, that's going to be a big challenge here.

KAYE: And how critical are the minutes, days, and weeks ahead in terms of finding people? How long can they survive in conditions like this?

MANNING: Well, I think what we've learned from recent incidents is that the human spirit and the human body can really do much more than we ever thought before. And there were some people during the Haiti incident who survived much longer than we expected. But this is a slightly different situation because there's also water involved.

And I really just think time will have to tell exactly how long people can live. But in general, if someone is underneath water for an extended period of time, it really is a very difficult thing to survive.

KAYE: Yes, it's a very critical hours ahead, I'm sure. Dr. Kimberly Manning, we really appreciate you coming in and chatting with us.

MANNING: Thank you.

KAYE: All right -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Randi, hard to imagine what facing the victims there. It's not only the water. It's not only the cold, it's also the fear of aftershocks. It's the fear that still more damage could happen there. It's going to be a long, long night for the people in Japan.

And coming up, we're going to be taking a very close look at the latest in Japan as CNN's special report continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: I want you to take a look at these pictures that's just showing the sheer power of that tsunami that's roared ashore a little more than 30 hours ago now. In some parts of northern Japan, a wall of water -- it was something like 30 feet high came crashing through that coastline up to six miles inland. You can see boats and cars being tossed around like toys there.

That's -- these pictures coming to us from a town calls Miyako on a coast quite close to Sendai, which is the capital, which is a city of a million people. So, you can imagine the sort of force and the sort of powers of nature that were unleashed across the northern Japanese coast yesterday.

The death toll has now climbed to more than 900 people. The search for survivors continues -- Randi.

KAYE: Andrew, it is 22 minutes past the hour. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is here to tell us how the U.S.'s West Coast fared from Friday's Tsunami. It wasn't just Japan and Hawaii.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. But before we get to that, there's a new bit of information I like to share with you, some new graphics that show not exactly just where the quake took place, but where some of the aftershocks really occurred and at the same time, how it has been threatening parts of the Japanese coast, especially areas where nuclear power plants happen to be located.

First and foremost, Randi, let's talk about where the quake itself took place. And you can see this area shaded right in red. That's where we had the magnitude 8.9 earthquake. Everything else you happen to see that isn't orange or yellow, a spot happened to be a place where you have had the aftershocks.

The problem is, you're going to notice this on the east coast of Japan, and that is exactly where we have some of the biggest reactors in the nation of Japan. Let's zoom in to a few key locations.

First one we're going to go, we're going to go from north to south. The first one will be the Onagawa nuclear power plant. The reason why these things are located close to the water is because the water is used to help cool down the reactors.

And, of course, we have this location. The tsunami came in and just able to roll right over these areas. They are really no high areas, no high spots of topography for people to seek shelter, for these spots to be shelter themselves.

This is the one that is quite possibly one of the biggest concerns we have, is that the Fukushima nuclear power plant, this is where we had some smoke rising, some of the fires from one of the reactors, a place horribly damaged by the tsunami.

And as we make our way further to the south, we have the third reactor site that we've been keeping a sharp eye on. That one, also, is an area that we're deeply concerned, with the name of this one not popping up. But I'm telling you, it's one of the big three that we're watching.

And the big concern that we have, if you'll notice, if you look back at this map, you're going to see a little bit of a line strewn in right here. This just happens to be the very edge, the rim of what we called the Pacific Plate, lose of an average of 92 millimeters per year. A lot of force, a lot of areas in this subduction zone where you have a lot of stress that's built up. And, of course, that stress resulted in the 8.9 earthquake, the fifth largest earthquake in world history and certainly the strongest in Japanese history.

Back to you, Randi.

KAYE: So deadly but so fascinating to see how it unfolded.

WOLF: You bet.

KAYE: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.

We are staying on top of the catastrophe in Japan. But we are also keeping an eye on unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Tear gas, gunshots and riots, a deadly day of protest. And we will take you there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Welcome back. You are watching CNN's special coverage of the twin disasters in Japan, the tsunami and the earthquake and potentially a third, an explosion at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan, in the town of Fukushima.

We want to break away just for a moment, though. We want to bring you up-to-date on a developing story coming to us from Yemen. Now, weeks of protest there heave once again erupted into violence. Witnesses are saying that government troops opened fire on an antigovernment protest in the capital and they tell CNN that dozens of people are injured.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

And, Mohammed, obviously, you have been frequently visiting Yemen covering this story. What are you hearing about this latest outbreak?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrew, medical officials are telling us now one person dead from these clashes today from a gunshot wound to the head and dozens injured.

That's after what according to eyewitnesses told us that after a morning prayer today, security forces confronted the tens of thousands of demonstrators that have been packed, camping outside of Sana'a University -- and what they're now calling Change Square -- telling them to take their tents and leave the ground. Eyewitnesses said that they refused, the protesters refused.

Then, the security forces started shooting at the protesters, started shooting teargas into the crowd. As I said before, dozens injured.

It's quite -- it's quite a worrying development, Andrew, because this comes just a few days after the President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen tried to make even more concessions to the opposition there, saying that he would work to put together a referendum for a new constitution and more reform.

The opposition there has refused it. The protesters have continued to refuse it. More and more protests, tens of thousands of people by the day in streets of several cities in Yemen calling for the ouster of the president.

That could leave a power vacuum there in Yemen. And if that happens, it leaves the West very concerned of who would fill it in a country where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has a real stronghold -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Understood.

Mohammed, these protests -- this latest round of violence comes after the Yemeni president promised the White House that he wouldn't use violence against his people. Does it show just how little leverage the U.S. has in Yemen now?

JAMJOOM: We are seeing more and more the past few weeks, it looks as though the U.S. does have more leverage. We saw a comment from President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the last few weeks saying that the U.S. shouldn't meddle, that foreigners shouldn't intervene in the affairs there.

And yesterday, we heard there was a call between John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security, that he was there -- that he was there telling President Saleh that they were praising him for his initiative and that they should try to make sure that they protect the protesters there. And that the president agreed with that.

And, yet, today, you are seeing a crackdown happening again. Yemeni officials have not commented. But, clearly, this is something that's worrying to the U.S. The U.S. says there should be dialogue in Yemen. The president says there should be dialogue.

But we are seeing more and more of is just violence in the streets -- Andrew.

STEVENS: Mohammed Jamjoom joining us live from Abu Dhabi, talking about the latest violence in Yemen. Thanks so much for that.

Well, a critical and dangerous situation is going on right now with two nuclear plants damaged by the massive quake in Japan. And to make a bad situation worse, an explosion at one of them today. We got the very latest coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Now, we're watching a serious situation going on right now with two Japanese nuclear energy plants damaged by the earthquake.

An explosion occurred earlier today at one of the two plants in Fukushima Prefecture. Now, the explosion collapsed the roof of one of the reactors, which allowed a small amount of radioactive material to escape into the atmosphere. Now, a 12-mile area around the plant has now been evacuated.

Japan's nuclear agency says the cooling system for three of the four reactors at a second plant in Fukushima have now failed. A scholar at the institute of policy studies in Washington calls fixing the problems a race against time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT ALVAREZ, INST. OF POLICY STUDIES (via telephone): This is the situation that has the potential for a nuclear catastrophe. And it's basically a race against time, because what has happened is that plant operators have not been able to cool down the core of -- I understand, of at least two reactors, which contain enormous amounts of radioactivity because of failed backup generators were probably damaged by the tsunami or the earthquake.

So, there is a major effort under way to fly in the military helicopters and other power sources, batteries, to keep the electricity going to allow water to circulate to remove the tremendous amount of heat that has built up in the reactor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now, that explosion that we have been seeing and we saw clouds of what looked like white smoke or steam going into the air also injured four workers at that plant -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Andrew, here is what else we know right now. The death toll is at least 900. And there are some 700 more people listed as missing. Scores of aftershock continue to rumble through the country, more than 6 million households without power following this quake and tsunami.

One of the hardest hit places is near Sendai, Japan. And that's where CNN international correspondent Anna Coren has just arrived, so close to the epicenter in the heart of the disaster.

Anna, if you could, set the scene for us. What are you seeing there?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sendai is the closest city to the epicenter, some 130 kilometers away. Much of this city has been hit by the tsunami. And, so far, power and water -- those are out.

We are obviously standing in an area that still has electricity. There are pockets up and running. But for much of the city, it is a black-out.

But I can tell you, Randi, it is certain (ph) what we have witnessed those devastating scenes. I spoke to a local reporter who managed to get out there a little earlier today and he said it was just a scene of devastation. House after house after house has just engulfed by that monster wave that hit this coast at 2:46 p.m. on (AUDIO BREAK), 10-meter wave, which in some parts of this coast, Randi, has come some five kilometers inland. So, the damage is quite enormous.

He said, in one particular area, 300 bodies have been identified.

As you said, the death toll stands at 900, but authorities now say that's expected to surpass 1,000. And as you mentioned, NHK, the public broadcaster, issued a statement a short time ago saying that 700 people are missing.

This is a very, very grave situation, Randi. And it certainly doesn't look good.

KAYE: And as we talk about the searches and those missing, are there searches still underway as far as you can tell? And are these frantic searches of people looking for their loved ones?

COREN: I understand that there was a massive search and rescue operation underway today. Helicopters were flying into these areas. It's the only way to access much of this area and there plucked people off rooftops. These people who've just been stranded and cannot get out.

As far as searching through the rubble, teams were in there. I know that there are other teams coming in from the United States to help, as well as elsewhere from around the world. This is going to be a massive operation as they look through rubble, they look through the debris, hoping to find a sign of life.

But, Randi, I can tell you, it is extremely cold. Anybody who is trapped is certainly in a tough, tough situation.

KAYE: I'm sure. Anna Coren reporting to us in Sendai -- Anna, thank you. Let's send it over to Andrew now.

STEVENS: Randi, thank you.

Well, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals live in Japan, many in Tokyo, but also across the country. That includes tens of thousands of Americans. That's created a huge challenge for the U.S. State Department. Within time (ph) communities cut off and communications widely disrupted, the State Department is trying to get answers to worried families back in the United States.

Well, Elise Labott is a CNN State Department producer. She joins us now from Washington.

And, Elise, how are the authorities in the U.S. going about getting in touch and putting people in touch with each other -- U.S. citizens in touch with each other in the U.S..?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Andrew, as you mentioned, tens of thousands of Americans in Japan traveling and living and working there. The State Department has set up a 24-hour task force at its headquarters to try and deal with helping Americans and also mustering the U.S. aid response to this. So, what they've done is they set up a bunch of Web sites where -- and e-mail addresses where the State Department says you can e-mail about a loved one.

We're going to put those on the screen right now if you have a loved one in Japan or in the tsunami affected areas. You're encouraged to e-mail the State Department. There's a phone number you can use.

And the State Department is saying, look, phones are down, as we know -- really encouraging people to use the social media, use SMS, text, e-mail, those kinds of things to get in touch with a loved one. And also, follow the State Department Twitter feed in terms to trying to find out more information about the loved one.

The State Department is really asking as much information as you have about your family member or a friend, medical information, date of birth, location where you last know them to be. All that information is going to help the State Department help those Americans right now. And there are consular officials and teams on the ground trying to help.

STEVENS: Yes. It certainly sounds like Twitter is lending a lot of support to people trying to get in touch with each other.

LABOTT: Always.

STEVENS: Now, Elise, the U.S. is also lending support by air. What can you tell us about that?

LABOTT: That's right. Well, actually, as we've been discussing, there's a lot of U.S. military response. They have the Chinook helicopters, they're going to help with the search and rescue.

And two U.S. urban search and rescue teams, one from Fairfax, Virginia, and another from Los Angeles County just left within the last hours, headed to help. As you know, they were very instrumental in helping in the Haiti earthquake in terms of finding victims alive. So, hopefully, that will still be the case.

The U.S. also has a disaster assistance team from the U.S. Agency of International Development on the way, really trying to work with the Japanese in terms of assessing their needs. They're really going to be taking the cues from the Japanese government. As we discussed, Japanese government has a lot of resources, really want to be in the lead, U.S. helping and complimenting what they're trying to do, Andrew.

STEVENS: OK, Elise, thanks for that. Elise Labott, senior State Department producer joining us today.

Now, the effects of the earthquake in Japan are being felt not just in Japan, of course, right around the world. Air travel is no exception. Reynolds Wolf will tell us about all the delays, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) STEVENS: I want to bring you up-to-date on the story about this explosion on a nuclear plant in Fukushima province in Japan. This is a fast-moving story. The picture, you see this, that the cloud of white smoke going up. This was s from an explosion that collapsed a roof at that nuclear plant.

We don't know what caused that. There has been speculation it may have been a fuel rod for the nuclear reactor melting down or it may have been other causes. But, certainly, it's created an extremely worrying situation about the level of nuclear radiation which may be escaping from these plants.

What's happened is the cooling system for these plants, for this plant, is not working at the moment. It was knocked out and the back- up supplies were also knocked out. They have shut down the plant, but it does take some time and the problems are evident as you see on the screen there. They are still battling to bring this situation under control at that nuclear part.

Earlier, just about an hour or so ago, the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan spoke at a press conference about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOTO KAN, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): And we have also evacuated 20 kilometers away from the first nuclear reactor. And we would like to give careful attention --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: And the real fear here, of course, is that there is an escape of serious levels of radiation. At the moment, the estimates and the official suggestions are that there is about eight times the normal level of radioactive material around the area of that nuclear reactor. It's difficult to test this and difficult to confirm this.

This is what the chief secretary to the cabinet in Japan had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YUKIO EDANO, JAPANESE CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY (through translator): This is not caused by the nuclear reactor. And there will not be any harmful gases emitted by this explosion. The radiation has not changed since the explosion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now, that's the chief cabinet secretary there calming fears which have been raising about the level of radioactive material being released from that explosion. There are, in fact, two nuclear plants which are shutting down and are in -- facing major problems at the moment. This is obviously, Randi, an enormous story that we are going to be following very closely here. It is -- it is -- as we keep saying -- is developing virtually minute-by-minute. KAYE: Yes. And also, as the prime minister said, he's looking forward to a brighter future as I'm sure many people in Japan are today.

It may be hard to believe given the pictures of the devastation, but this earthquake in Japan is only the fifth largest since recordkeeping began. I'll tell you about the worst of the worst, just ahead.

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KAYE: Welcome back. Just about nine minutes before the hour.

The past couple of days have reminded us of the devastating power of an earthquake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): A disaster still unfolding in Japan, a massive earthquake, magnitude 8.9, then this -- a wall of water that swept away people, cars, and homes, anything in its path.

The quake that triggered this was the largest ever in Japan, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Information Center, the fifth strongest since they began keeping records. Hard to believe looking at this earthquake there were four others before it, stronger, deadlier, even more threatening.

The strongest earthquakes ever recorded:

November 4th, 1952, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. It triggered a tsunami with waves up to 34 feet high that devastated parts of Hawaii. No lives were lost.

December 26th, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude underwater earthquake rumbled off the coast of Sumatra, that triggered a series of tsunamis that swept ashore in 14 countries. They left thousands injured, thousands missing, and hundreds of thousands homeless in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a moment, and the concrete wall was busted, and we were flushed out of the room. We were flushed out and caught in debris, and the water was crazy. You were up, you were down, you were underneath swimming around with cars, refrigerators, furniture, fallen down trees and everything else.

KAYE: In all, nearly 233,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

But there are others even worse in the history books.

March 27th, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Prince William Sound in Alaska. The quake and ensuing tsunami and mudslides took 128 lives and caused $311 million in damages along the Gulf of Alaska. Towns were crushed, in some cases cracked into pieces. The worst of all: May 22nd, 1960, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake hit near Concepcion, Chile. In its wake, a deadly tsunami that hit Japan and Hawaii. So much power it wiped out nearly 2,000 lives, injured thousands, and left millions homeless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The official death toll in this quake so far is at least 900 people with another 700 listed as missing. And that number, of course, could rise.

So, if you look at these pictures and are moved to help -- well, we want to help you help the people in Japan who are suffering and the victims there. You can just go to CNN.com/impact. And there, you will find organizations that you can donate to, and some ways for you to get involved to help the people there following this earthquake and the tsunami.

And, Andrew, you know that a lot of people around the world who are watching these images certainly would like to do that.

STEVENS: I've had three e-mails while we've been on air, Randi, from people saying, can you help us? Where do we go to try to contribute to this? So, it is really amazing.

KAYE: Yes.

STEVENS: It's really sort of stirring people and getting people involved in this. It is an extraordinary disaster. And please, give generously to help the Japanese cause.

Well, coming up next, some of the most powerful tsunami images at your fingertips. We'll show you the interactive maps that have been created online to capture this.

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KAYE: Travel in and out of Japan has been a real problem since the earthquake, as you can imagine.

STEVENS: It certainly has, in the tarmac at the Sendai airport especially underwater as these tsunami rolled in. It's not just Sendai, delays and cancellations about 180 miles to the south in Tokyo.

Reynolds Wolf is back with us now.

And, Reynolds, there are ripples being felt because of the airport delays and closures in Japan I suspect pretty much around the world.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, absolutely. No question about it. But definitely the biggest issue you're going to find will be in Japan. It just doesn't happen to be in terms of the airports, it's also the railways. There are all kinds of problems that may take weeks, perhaps even months to really fix. But the place -- of course, the place that's been hit the hardest is Sendai airport. We're going to zoom in on that particular location. If you have any familiarity with some of the airports in North America, namely, say, towards LAX in southern California, very similar set-up -- right along the coast, as we zoom right a bit, you can see the Pacific Ocean. All of the Pacific Ocean came right on to the Sendai airport, right across the tarmac.

In fact, the video that we have is just compelling. You know, we often speak how it comes onshore like a wave. But it's more than that. It's an entirely different bits altogether. It is simply a wall of water that is just virtually unstoppable.

It's a driving, killing force that comes onshore. It just knocks everything out of its way. And, of course, the damage that we have at this airport is going to take quite a while to get back in shape.

As soon as it is fixed up, I'm sure this is going to be a major point for supplies, for all sorts of materials to come in and help rebuild parts of northeast Japan. And it's going to be certainly a very tough endeavor.

But the sooner that thing is able to open up, hopefully, in the next couple of weeks and months, it will make a tremendous difference in putting northeastern Japan back together.

Let's send it back to you.

STEVENS: Reynolds, to get aid up there as well. Reynolds, thanks very much for that.

Well, countries around the world are indeed offering assistance to Japan. Coming up, we'll tell you how you can make a difference. Stay with us.

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