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CNN Saturday Morning News

Special Coverage: Quake Tsunami Disaster; Death Toll Likely To Rise in Japan; Race To Cool Nuclear Reactor; Nuke Evacuation Area Doubles, Again; Hawaii Tsunami Aftermath; U.S. Rescue Teams Head to Japan; Food, Gas, Water Running Low; Survivors Scramble for Basic Necessities

Aired March 12, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The sun will be rising soon over Japan. Day two since the country's biggest ever earthquake flattened cities and cents a tsunami smashing into the coast.

Of course, it's too soon to hammer down a death toll, but Japanese television reports that more than 900 people are dead. That figure doesn't include casualties in hard-hit areas not yet reached by rescue crews. In one coastal town, about half the population is still unaccounted for and that's about 9,500 men, women and children.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Meantime, a few people have actually tested positive for radiation exposure. That's according to a report on Japanese public television. They were near a nuclear facility when something inside that plant exploded shortly after the earthquake. Government officials say the reactor itself was not damaged.

WHITFIELD: And in some Japanese towns today, no two ways to say it. The destruction is complete. Nearly no structure is standing. Nearly no car is right side up. People we have talked to say that they felt strong aftershocks throughout the night.

So one of those correspondents just arriving in Tokyo within the past 24 or so is Martin Savidge. He's joining us now by phone.

Martin, last time John spoke with you, you were trying to make your way from Tokyo on a -- on a flight to get somewhere north of there. How are you doing? Where are you?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know what, we're still trying to do the same thing, Fred. Right now, we've just gotten into vans and we're going to make our way to the domestic airport. And it is hoped from there that we catch a flight in about maybe two hours.

This will be a domestic flight that might take us -- leapfrog us, so to speak -- about 150, 200 miles north. As you know, the roads and, of course, the rail system is out up in that region. And so what we're trying to do is fly as far as we can north and then we still know that we're eventually going to have to go on road and it probably -- and probably going to take hours after that point. So that's the plan.

Right now, though, as you say, it is very early in the morning here in Japan and it is going to be a critical day of the rescue effort really being ramped up. It ramped up yesterday. It's going to be even more so today as they continue to try to find people in the ruins of buildings as they continue to pluck them from the rooftops.

You know, it's very amazing, two natural disasters previously come to mind here. One, of course, the tsunami in the area of Banda Aceh, the Christmas Day tsunami, which you look at the images today of the areas of the Pacific Coast of Japan how they've been affected -- hauntingly similar.

And then on top of that, people stranded on rooftops waving to helicopters with flags trying to get them to rescue them. Images of Katrina that many Americans are very familiar with.

So, you know, you have this very breathtaking imagery. But then on top of this overwhelming natural disaster, the earthquake and the tsunami, there is this nuclear emergency that is playing out. And this is the one that is going to dominate much of the attention of the government today. And it's going to be critical today as they focus on that number one and number two reactor. As you pointed out, they have continued to expand the evacuation area.

WHITFIELD: So, Martin, I wonder, you know, even though it's still dark there before sun rises, just give us an idea when you were at the airport, were there a lot of people? Was it particularly crowded, a lot of people trying to get out and head, say, north like you were to try and, you know, get closer to loved ones? And then now that you are trying to get -- get north by ground, are you seeing a lot of other cars on the road? Is it gridlock still because the trains are not working?

SAVIDGE: No, it's actually -- I was very surprised last night, both at Narita Airport and the domestic airport, by the lack of crowds. Now it's probably a fact that many people had already resigned to the fact that many planes simply were not flying or their schedules had been canceled or heavily delayed. So a lot of people had found either hotels or places to go.

They were handing out sleeping bags and pillows and mattresses for those who had no place to go to begin bedding down another night at both Narita and the domestic airport.

But the roads have been remarkably clear. Now here in Tokyo things have eased. They're getting a bit back to normal. There are a lot of power restrictions. And this has to go back to the fact of the nuclear problem that they're suffering. They've lost about 10 percent of their power. So they're asking the rest of the nation to try to curtail because they fear there could be rolling blackouts on top of all the efforts that can hamper the rescue that's underway.

WHITFIELD: I see. All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much as you try to traverse, get there any way you can from Tokyo and northward there in Japan. Thanks so much. VAUSE: And, Fred, we're getting a lot of powerful video from Japan and among some of the newest is this dramatic scene from Tokyo. It's the theater where a roof collapsed. Take a look.

WHITFIELD: IReporter Aaron Lace was attending a college graduation at the theater when that earthquake struck. Aaron was able to get out, but many others did not. He says the emcee at the ceremony told everyone to stay seated and remain calm.

The United States is sending emergency aid to Japan. Some U.S. Navy ships are already stationed in the region and more are heading there carrying rescue teams and relief supplies.

U.S. helicopters are conducting air drops of rice and bread. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is keeping track of all of this right now in Washington -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fred, before I get to what the military is doing, I've just gotten a release from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It says that it is sending two experts in boiling water nuclear reactors to Japan. They deployed as part of a USAID team to try to help address that nuclear emergency that Martin Savidge was just talking about.

Now when it comes to both the nuclear situation and the relief and rescue situation, the U.S. government is saying it will do whatever it is asked to do by the Japanese. Some military assets are already participating in the relief efforts, others are en route. Still others are poised to jump in if they are requested.

Now two helicopters from the U.S. Naval facility of Suvee (ph) delivered 1500 pounds of rice and bread to a town near the area that was hardest hit by the quake. We have two destroyers, the USS McCampbell and the USS Curtis Wilbur. They are near Tokyo. They are preparing to move into position to provide at-sea search and rescue and recovery operations.

Eight other ships are en route from elsewhere. Some will arrive on Sunday. Some will be later. Among them are three ships from the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. The military says the Ronald Reagan is prepared to serve as a platform for refueling helicopters involved in rescue and recovery onshore.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Essex and Amphibia (ph) ship is also on the move and helicopters are being brought in from all around the region. They, of course, play a critical role in ferrying supplies, people and equipment as needed.

In addition, the Third Marine Expeditionary Force based on the island of Okinawa is pre-positioning forces and supplies to support relief operations however they can. All of this military response being coordinated by U.S. Forces Japan based at Yokoto Air Base near Tokyo.

U.S. officials say the military is ready to provide communications, medical help, civil engineering, as well as search and rescue and relief, whatever the Japanese need and request, but the requests have to come from them first. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: OK. Jeanne Meserve in Washington, appreciate that -- John.

VAUSE: Fred, crews have reopened harbors on the main Hawaiian islands Saturday except for Maui. The island state's governor has signed a State of Disaster Proclamation. The tsunami has caused millions of dollars in damage there. This is footage from the Napoopoo area on Kona Island which was hit by the tsunami on Friday. Napoopoo is the location where Captain Cook landed. It's also the location where he was later killed.

The tsunami raced across the Pacific as fast as a jetliner hitting the U.S. West Coast a few hours after it slammed Hawaii. In California, Governor Jerry Browne has declared a state of emergency in four counties. In Crescent City, waves topped eight feet. In northern California, one man was killed when he was swept out to sea while taking pictures of the tsunami's arrival.

WHITFIELD: An already-rattled Japan awaits in fear now of more aftershocks and now an uncertain future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The biggest quake ever to hit Japan has triggered many aftershocks. One measured 6.4 near Honshu, Japan. No way to predict how many more might erupt adding to the fear and the uncertainty even as survivors begin the long process of digging out.

VAUSE: So we've asked meteorologist Jenny Harrison to help us understand the nature of these aftershocks and essentially why Japan really can't afford to relax. They can't afford to rest easy, can they?

JENNY HARRISON, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely not. But I think, as a nation, (INAUDIBLE), the Japanese, of course, never really have been prepared for this. It must be a terrifying time every time there's an aftershock.

And let me just show you this. I think you're going to be quite staggered actually when I tell you the number. There have been now been, according to the USGS, 223 aftershocks. Now, 24 of these aftershocks -- you can just see -- look at it -- it's just a mass of color here.

Twenty-three of these aftershocks have actually been six magnitude or just greater and there was actually one at 7.1 magnitude quake that was also reported.

Now, what I want you to see on here is the region we're talking about. You hear us talk about the ring of fire. We know it goes all the way around the Pacific rim. It's got all these big plates literally meet up. But in Japan you have a few plates that are all together.

So this line you can see here, that is actually the Pacific Plate. Then you'll see that it comes down. There's different colors here. And sort of almost as a "v" sort of coming down or a "u" shape, I should say. That is actually the North America Plate. You've got the Philippines Plate to the south of that. And then to the west, where you can see it says the Sea of Japan, that is actually the Eurasian Plate.

And when the earthquake struck and we had, of course, this tsunami, that was in an area known as the Japan Trench because it's a subcontract zone. And because of that -- where we have the zones going underneath, it literally went underneath. And so it is to say what you have is the Japan Trench where this took place.

Now, on average, there are probably about 1500 earthquakes that take place that are recorded. It's always about those that are recorded in Japan. So it is something that people obviously do as best as they can to get used to.

But after this big magnitude earthquake with so many that have followed that are so strong, I just want to tell you some of the latest figures from the Japan National Police Agency. Again, quite staggering.

Over 2,500 buildings have been completely destroyed. There are over nearly 2,500 that are completely immersed under water. Four hundred and thirty roads are damaged. There are 43 bridges damaged. Sixty-one landslides have taken place.

So all of these factors. And then, of course, with the number of aftershocks we have had, it could likely continue for weeks and even months as we go forward. And, obviously, when you've got the buildings at such a precarious state, as we have got in so many places, then, John and Fredricka, I -- you know, how the people deal with that on an everyday basis really I don't know.

VAUSE: Just very quickly. Was this the big one or could there be something worse to come?

HARRISON: There could be something worse to come, John. I mean, that's one of the things again, of course, that all of these experts, all the seismologists, they really cannot accurately predict what's going to happen and certainly, as you say, the magnitude.

So, yes, this was pretty strong 8.9. But we could have something stronger.

VAUSE: OK. Thanks, Jenny.

WHITFIELD: All right. The fate of so many is uncertain right now in Japan.

VAUSE: When we come back, we'll look at how relatives are using social media as a lifeline.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tokyo is hundreds of miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, but people there felt it very strongly. Emily in Tokyo sent this iReport. She shot it minutes after the initial quake struck. She said the buildings shook and wobbled for about an hour after the first shock.

VAUSE: The city of Sendai is one of the hardest-hit areas. As CNN's Kyung Lah headed there, she stopped at a small town just south of Sendai where rescuers have been trying to reach at least 13 people feared trapped under the rubble. She filed this report a short time ago.

(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 Sirakawa and in this city there is a neighborhood where you can see some of the houses, it really does look like a small little community. You can see the three houses right here. What you can't see behind the 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 we zoom in on what you're looking right there, heavy machinery digging.

There are 13 people buried alive. There are children among the missing. The hope is from these rescuers is that they may be in their houses, maybe trapped in a 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)

WHITFIELD: Well, people in Japan are using social media to try and tell their stories.

VAUSE: Yes, Reggie Aqui is back with us trying to keep track of the newest and some of the more powerful images.

What have you got, Reggie?

REGGIE AQUI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a new one that just came in to us at iReport, John. It actually shows -- it's pretty interesting -- folks at Tokyo Disneyland. We're told there are reports of nearly 70,000 people in their two parks. We have some video that we can play of this and you'll see that there are people who are crouching down and they're in the middle of Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land there in Tokyo Disneyland.

The person who sent this is actually from California and he's used to earthquakes, but he's not used to anything like this. He said the fact that they were making the announcements in Japanese made him even more nervous because he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

We're told thousands of people actually had to spend the night in the resort because they couldn't get out and get back home to where they were going.

Also I want to show you what's going on on Twitter. This is a tweet that NASA sent out this afternoon. Very interesting stuff because it shows what the flooding and the tsunami looks like from outer space.

So I'm going to show you a before and after photo -- satellite photo. This is the before. So you see Sendai here, right? And you see the coastline, not a lot of water there. The water would be indicated by dark marks. So there's the coastline in the before.

After the earthquake and the tsunami, the coastline is here. You can see all of this black coming into the coast. That's where all the water is and that's what people are dealing with now in Sendai.

So, again, that is coming from NASA over Twitter.

And I'm going to just end by showing you again this Google person finder and show you how many records are now on there. Sixty-three -- 68,300. What this is it's a way for you to -- if you're looking for someone, give a description, give a name. If you have information about someone that someone may be looking for, you can type that in as well. There are pictures. You can type -- type in just a first or a last name and it will show you all those records. And that is becoming extremely popular as these disasters have happened in the past couple of years.

And, lastly, I just want to show you our iReport page. If you are in Japan and have been affected and have some photos or video and can send that to us, we would certainly appreciate it. That's ireport.com.

So we're getting in new reports every few minutes. We're going to continue to update you on those -- John and Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Fantastic tools for people to connect.

AQUI: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Reggie, thank you so much -- John.

VAUSE: An American woman's husband was part of a group of workers inside the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant when the quake hit.

Earlier, Janie Eudy, talked to CNN about her husband's journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANIE EUDY, HUSBAND WORKS AT FUKUSHIMA POWER PLANT (via telephone): Well, it was late last night around 11:00 our time, 11:00, 11:30. They -- he was traveling with a few of his co-workers. At the time, I didn't know how many. They were headed for the hotel called Pwaki, P-W-A-K-I. And they thought they would find shelter there, a hotel. But once they got there, there was no hotel.

So I really don't know, since I haven't talked to him again, how they made it through the night, but I did get a call from one of the other gentlemen that he worked with, a wife and said she got a call in which now they're all calling in and any report they get -- we're kind of putting it together where they're at. And --

(CROSSTALK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: So it sounds like he's sort of working his way through the -- the countryside there?

EUDY: Right. They are on the southern -- they're going south. They're headed -- trying to go towards Tokyo to get help so they can evacuate the, you know, escape and get away and, of course, get further away from Fukushima where they're having the problem.

KAYE: And how are they getting around?

EUDY: They had the rental cars that they started with -- when they started the job. And as far as I know that's how they're traveling.

KAYE: And I know that -- we said he was inside the plant, some really scary moments. Just very briefly if you can, remind us of what he experienced inside that power plant.

EUDY: Well, from what he told me, it was a -- it was a very scary moment. Everything started shaking, rattling, parts of the building was falling. Well, the -- the -- all the glass, the lights, the air conditioner, vents and all of that was coming down. They had just debris flying everywhere from the lockers and whatever.

And in the midst of it that's when the lights went out. And they were trying to get out and get everybody they could out.

KAYE: And find their way out really in the dark. Did they have any warning at all?

EUDY: As far -- I'm not for sure, but evidently they didn't. If they did, it wasn't much.

And they were used to having quakes there. But this one, you know, how it come out -- it was just different. And this usually they would go through it. No one -- they just keep working as normal.

And -- but with this one, it was so different and everything they had to evacuate for the -- for the safety of it on -- on all the workers.

KAYE: I know -- you know, I have to say you sound really tired. I'm -- I'm -- I imagine you're probably not getting a whole lot of sleep worrying about him today.

EUDY: No, I -- I don't think I've missed any news report. We've got every channel I can get and every TV I can pool around to watch. And especially with the rescue was going on and thought maybe I might get a glimpse of -- of him going through somewhere or find out where rescue people and maybe some of the military, maybe they'll run up on them to help them. To -- because I don't know how the roads are to travel.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: Right it's amazing that he's able to just call you and let you know at least he's alive trying to make his way back to a safe place.

EUDY: That was the biggest -- that was the biggest thing. That was a -- a great moment when I -- I knew because that was the only, the second time I've heard from him. Last time he was -- I -- and -- and the only time, the first time all I knew was he was on the side of a mountain and it was cold. And that was it.

And I didn't know if he'd made it through the night or -- they kept having more and more quakes. But he -- I know he's alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And we're still waiting to get another update from Janie's husband -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, of course, we're going to have more from Japan after the break.

VAUSE: We are also want to keep an eye on Libya where a journalist has been shot and killed. We'll have that story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at some of the other stories that we continue to follow. Help is coming from all directions to earthquake- devastated Japan. Take a look at the search dog teams arriving in Tokyo from South Korea.

U.S. military ships and aircrafts are delivering food and relief supplies. And a British rescue team is scheduled to arrive Sunday with heavy lifting equipment and 150 rescue experts and search dogs from Virginia and California are on the way to Japan -- to Japan, rather, to help as well.

So Hawaii is moving to get federal funds to help rebuild in the aftermath of a tsunami. It struck the Hawaiian islands early yesterday morning sweeping Maui's coast with six foot waves. Hawaii's governor signed a State of Disaster Proclamation today.

VAUSE: And, Fred, now the news. Al Jazeera is now reporting that one of their cameramen has been killed near the city of Benghazi in Libya. There are few details about how it happened. CNN is monitoring developments. We'll update you as they become available.

There's also been a deadly turn in the anti-government protests in Yemen. Witnesses say security forces fired live ammunition during demonstrations outside Sanaa University. The government denies that insisting police used only water cannons and teargas to disperse the crowds. The government says a third party fired at the protesters. Medical officials says at least two protesters were killed.

WHITFIELD: The National Football League labor talks have broken down after owners have locked out players from any discussions. The disagreement is over how to divide some $9 billion in annual income. Now the players union has filed papers to decertify itself. A group of players has already filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league.

The moment a woman gets pregnant in Indonesia, she is 300 times more likely to die in the next year than if she were not pregnant. One woman is attempting to save more lives.

VAUSE: Also ahead, U.S. rescue teams are heading to Japan. We'll have more on that story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Prenatal care is a luxury in Indonesia. Robin Lim believes it's a basic human right and is working to get prenatal care for all women. She's our "CNN Hero" of the week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN LIM, ACTIVIST: The moment that a woman falls pregnant in Indonesia, she is 300 times more likely to die in the next 12 months than if she was not pregnant.

If you have money you can get excellent medical services, but the poorest people don't always get the services they need. In the hospital here, you cannot take your baby home until you pay the bill. Sometimes the mothers wait outside all day waiting to get in to feed their baby and to change their baby's diaper.

My name is Robin Lim. I'm a midwife.

Most people call me Ibu Robin because Ibu means mother. I've learned about the dangers of motherhood when my own sister, she died as a complication of her third pregnancy. I was just really crushed.

I came to Bali to reinvent my life. Hi, baby, hi. I started the clinic run by Indonesian midwives. We offer prenatal care, birth services. No matter how poor they are, no matter their race or religion, we teach new graduating classes of midwives how to do a more natural, gentle birth. The women can stay as long as they want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Robin helps poor people. She cares about me very much, like my own mother. I'm extremely grateful. Each baby, each adult deserves a clean, healthy, loving environment. Those are a human right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Of course, we want to hear from you. Tell us about the heroes in your community. Send your nominations to cnn.com/heroes.

VAUSE: Well, getting help to those who need it. More than 50 countries are sending rescuers to Japan. Next we'll look at who the U.S. is sending and what they'll be doing. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The quake destroyed buildings hundreds of miles away. Take a look at this video sent to us by a CNN viewer in Tokyo. This is Sean Crownover's apartment in Tokyo. It looked like this after he came back inside from evacuating.

Sean says that he felt three quakes in ten minutes and he says people are worried about the long overdue big one and that's what they generally call it. They're not even sure if this was the big one.

VAUSE: There's no doubt that the Japanese who will need a lot of help from around the world to recover from this earthquake and tsunami. Help is on its way. Among the rescue teams heading to Japan is one crew from Los Angeles. Dan Guevara, our CNN affiliate KTLA has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN GUEVARA, KTLA (voice-over): Seven four thousand pounds of search and rescue equipment packed, loaded and ready to go. The high tech tools of the rescue team from L.A. County Fire will use during the rescue mission in Japan.

BATT. CHIEF DAVE STONE, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: They're excited to be able to help the people in Japan. They know if it happened in L.A. that the international community would help us.

GUEVARA: The 74-person team is made up of doctors, building experts and firefighters. There are also six canine teams trained to search. The team has experienced covering other international disasters.

CHIEF DEPUTY JOHN TRIPP, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It will be similar possibly of the operation between like Katrina where we were doing water rescues, somewhere to possible Haiti with collapsed buildings with survivors possibly trapped and also we were just in New Zealand.

GUEVARA: The team could be gone for three weeks at a time, which means they have to pack all the necessities, food, clothing and comfort items, to last the entire mission.

TODD DENERSON, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Most all of us carry baby wipes, believe it or not, just because it can either be a quick rinse or shower.

GUEVARA: They've seen the images. They know the challenges. It's the desire to help that makes this difficult mission bearable.

STONE: There's nothing I would rather do than this, I mean, helping people out. I can speak for our whole team. All the men and women, even the dogs, the canines, this is what we do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And that rescue team left Los Angeles earlier this morning, a few hours ago now.

WHITFIELD: Don Kunitomi is a public information officer for the L.A. County Fire Search and Rescue Team. He's joining us right now from Los Angeles by phone. So Don, give me an idea what will be the mission as soon as they hit ground.

DON KUNITOMI, L.A. COUNTY FIRE SEARCH RESCUE (via telephone): Well, John and Fredericka, thank you for having me. Our rescue team left LAX this morning at about 7:30. They refueled in anchorage, Alaska, and will be arriving early afternoon Sunday our time, Pacific Standard Time, at an air force base near the disaster site.

We are sharing our commercial -- charter jet with the other United States team that is qualified to do international rescue work and that is Fairfax, Virginia. Our equipment flew out of March Air Force base on a C-17 this morning also with three of our firefighters who are experts in logistics.

As you said earlier, our chief mentioned we are taking about 74,000 pounds of equipment, which includes six rescue dogs and four inflatable boats with the upward motor so we can do water rescue. Right now, we do not have an assignment because of course we're still in the air. And we are very, very excited to be able to go over there and help the people of Japan.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Don, we've heard so much about how well prepared the Japanese are, how they have -- basically they've been preparing for this moment. Tell us what don't they have? What can m you bring to Japan that will help the Japanese in this disaster?

KUNITOMI: Well, what we can bring and what I do know for sure as our chief mentioned earlier in the interview, we've had a lot of experience with earthquakes being in Haiti and New Zealand. New Zealand was interesting because the city that was there was a newer type city.

It was much different than Haiti where there is some poverty in Haiti. So that being said, we will be able to offer a lot of technical type of rescue. What I mean by technical is we can get into collapsed buildings, make sure it doesn't collapse on us and rescue any victims that are still alive inside.

WHITFIELD: And once you arrive, do you have to wait for the OK from the Japanese government to see if they even want your help, if it's even welcome or is that already done?

KUNITOMI: Well, we are working through USAID, which is part of the federal government and that's all been set up. Now, your question about getting an assignment, yes, absolutely, indeed we will need to figure out in jointly -- I'm sorry -- in conjunction with the officials of Japan on what our assignment will be. VAUSE: Don, you're an expert in earthquakes and disasters, but when you look at the video and that tsunami and the devastation that we have all been watching together, have you ever seen anything like this before?

KUNITOMI: I have never seen anything like that. I am of Japanese ancestry so it hits home. I also went to college in Hawaii and they were affected by it.

So the men and women of our team really have our work cut out for us and there are a lot of mixed feelings about going over there and doing this work. We're very proud to be able to do this. But, yes, there's a lot yet to be seen.

WHITFIELD: And Don, do you have any family there?

KUNITOMI: No, I don't. Well, not in northern Japan. My family is near Hiroshima.

VAUSE: Then just very quickly, give us an assessment. How long do you think it will be before this rescue operation really gets under way and what's the window of opportunity here?

KUNITOMI: Well, I really can't speak to that because we haven't gotten an assignment.

VAUSE: Based on your experience, what would you say?

KUNITOMI: Well, these guys will hit the ground running. They basically will go work around the clock. In other deployments many slept on the sidewalk and used a curb for a pillow. So they'll be going on a lack of sleep for quite a while.

WHITFIELD: Don Kunitomi, thanks so much, of the L.A. County Fire Search and Rescue Team. Appreciate your time and all the best.

VAUSE: Wish you all the best to your team.

KUNITOMI: Thanks for having me you guys.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. So find out about the ongoing efforts in Japan and how you can make a difference visit our impact your world page that's at cnn.com/impact.

So every minute counts in a search and rescue effort. Of course so does the weather.

VAUSE: Yes, it is winter in Japan. It is cold. Meteorologist Jenny Harrison joins us now. Jenny, some good weather during the day, but now it's getting cold at night and there's also some clouds on the horizon.

JENNY HARRISON, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: There is, Sunday should be a pretty good day, 6:00 in the morning local time now. Let's have a look at the current conditions. Temperatures right now are fairly close to freezing, which is not unexpected of course given the time of the day.

Sendai interesting, we've not had any reports coming out of that weather station for several hours now and then the actual winds right now fairly light. Again, that's to be expected this time of the morning to a certain extent as well but winds are light.

Interestingly winds from Tokyo at around 6 kilometers an hour or 3 miles an hour and then if we look at the forecast through the week, Sunday should be a good day. But as we head through much of Monday, there is a funnel system coming through. This could bring rain, but could turn into a wintry mix.

Temperatures you can see by day just getting into the low and mid 40s Fahrenheit and then in the overnight hours it will indeed be below freezing. The winds could also pick up. It will probably feel colder than these temperatures when you factor in the wind.

Tokyo as well, you can see the temperatures a little bit higher here. So when we see that rain coming in Monday and Tuesday, it should generally stay as rain and as I say the air even though it's cooler in the overnight hours probably sort of staying at around 7 degrees Celsius.

This is the overall forecast across Japan as we go into Sunday. Of course further into the north into Sapporo, for example, that is a lot colder by day, just above freezing. But Sendai not bad Sunday, but Monday into Tuesday it will certainly change for the worse unfortunately.

VAUSE: Yes, not good news.

WHITFIELD: All right, racing to prevent a nuclear disaster now. The dangerous situation at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima.

VAUSE: Yes, we'll find out what's being done about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Three randomly selected patients at a Japan hospital have tested positive for radiation exposure from one of the Fukushima nuclear plants. You can see the white smoke arising from an explosion Saturday afternoon at the Daiichi plant.

Officials say it was caused by a failure in a pumping system when workers tried to control the reactor's temperature, but they say it did not damage the reactor itself. Those officials say radiation levels appear to be falling.

Still the government ordered an expanded evacuation around that plant and this one in Okuma where the cooling system has failed as well. Crews have even used seawater to try and cool the fuel rods.

Tens of thousands of people live in the evacuation area around the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Supplies of food, water and gasoline are running low. Major highways are closed and many roads have been washed away.

In short, travel is at a standstill. Ryan McDonald lives in Fukushima. Here's how he's holding up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN MCDONALD, WITNESS: The biggest problem right now we have is there is no food anywhere. This is what I had this is what I had for dinner 12 hours ago. I have had nothing to eat since then. I had some orange juice.

This is all I've had in 12 hours. All the convenience stores are closed. The grocery stores are closed. So everyone is on the road trying to find something open, and it's just gridlock everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So a lot of the images you've been seeing have been extraordinary because people are using their cell phones. They're using their video cameras. Just take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Richard Dong was sitting right here in the delta lounge of Tokyo's Narita airport when the quake struck. He said part of the ceiling simply fell down. Glasses, cups hit the floor. Lights were swinging back and forth, all of that.

People actually hit the floor and scrambled under tables. He said everyone in the lounge evacuated and gathered in a place in the terminal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Others also had their cameras rolling as the ground started shaking in Japan. They too are sharing those terrifying moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT ALT, WITNESSED EARTHQUAKE (via telephone): The ground was rolling for an extended period of time. I wasn't exactly sure what to do or where to go. I had never been prepared for anything like this.

My wife and I stood outside and basically held on to the outside of our house. You couldn't even stand up. Literally at the peak of these waves that were washing over the ground, you literally could not stay on your feet. You had to kind of crouch down in a ball or put your back against something so you didn't fall.

HARRISON PAYTON, WITNESSED EARTHQUAKE: The whole ground was shaking so much. It was unreal. I can't describe it. It was -- it felt like someone was just pulling you back and forth like side to side as hard as they could.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just blew up. This is crazy! Look at it. I'm back. Do you all see this? Too much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God. That is the biggest earthquake to date. It is still going. My God, the building is going to fall.

MCDONALD: But it got considerably worse. This is the biggest one yet and then it didn't stop. Then it got a little bit worse so I went to stand outside in between the two buildings, and the clanking you hear is actually the canisters of natural gas banging against each other.

That's when I said, my God, the building is going to fall. I said that just before, because it had never made that sound. It sounded like a shotgun or a freight train going off, just boom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Almost puts you there, how shocking, how frightening those moments were?

VAUSE: And as powerful as those images are, it can't compare to what people have actually been going through on the ground over the last 36 hours or so or whatever it's been.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we're going to have much more right after this break of the aftermath of that earthquake and tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States as well as around the world. You're watching our continuing coverage of the aftermath of this earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

WHITFIELD: It's been -- it's a devastating view of what's taking place in Japan as a result of that earthquake and that tsunami. And of course, it also means that thousands of people are reaching out, trying to find out where their loved ones are.

VAUSE: This will be it for me because you'll be picking up in the next hour so I'm going to say goodbye to our viewers all around the world.

WHITFIELD: It's been great working with you today.

VAUSE: It's been a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: You'll be back this evening.

VAUSE: I'll be back with Don in a few hours from now.

WHITFIELD: That's right. More of John Vause and Don Lemon coming up, but right now we want to bring you kind of an image, an idea of what it's like for a lot of loved ones who are looking for their family and friends abroad. Thelma Gutierrez gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles, diners at Mitsuru Grill sat speechless as they watched images from the quake zone unfold before their eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God. Dear God.

GUTIERREZ: Down the street at Kato Retirement Home, Nancy, Naomi and Fujii also watched in disbelief.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a tsunami. This is the most serious part. I have never seen anything like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is tsunami.

GUTIERREZ: The women told me as disturbing as these images are, they can't look away.

NAOMI TAKARA, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: I have never seen anything like this. It looks like science fiction, really.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): What are you feeling as you're watching this?

NANCY NIIJIMA, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: Everything in the world is going to finish.

GUTIERREZ: You feel like it's the end of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The end of the world.

NIIJIMA: All the earth, yes, is going to finish, all the world.

GUTIERREZ: In all of your life, did you ever believe that you would see such a thing?

TAKARA: Never. Never. I could see it in the movies, but not in reality. This is unreal. It's hard to take.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): In a nearby office in Little Tokyo, Shelley Kwan searched on line for a friend who was working as a teacher in Sendai, near the epicenter. She found him on Facebook.

(on camera): So then you log on to Facebook, and what did you see? What's the first thing you saw?

SHELLEY KWAN, FRIEND OF QUAKE SURVIVOR: The post about, Wow, the ground actually opened up in my school.

GUTIERREZ: This is a message to everyone, is that -- to all of his friends.

KWAN: He says, "I'm OK, everyone. We're setting up a shelter for the people whose homes have fallen." He has another one that says, "Madness, people crying, and aftershock after aftershock. The school's a physical mess." GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Shelley says her friend's posts stop when his batteries ran low, but she can sleep knowing he survived.

And now so can Yasu Kon, who's from the hard-hit area in northern Japan. He just learned his mother is alive, and so is his sister, who's still trapped at her workplace in Sendai.

(on camera): How do you feel now?

YASU KON, BROTHER OF QUAKE SURVIVOR: I'm just fine, happy, kind of, you know --

GUTIERREZ: You feel relieved, I imagine.

KON: Yes. Yes. I'm relieved.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): But it's bittersweet because he says so many others have lost so much.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)