TOKYO, April 4 (Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan and crippled a nuclear power station, raising the risk of an uncontrolled radiation leak.
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* Japan warns it could take months to stop radiation leaking from the nuclear plant.
* The majority of voters polled by a newspaper say a coalition would better handle the crisis and post-quake recovery effort.
* An aide to embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the government's priority is to stop radiation leaks which were scaring the public and hindering work on cooling overheated nuclear fuel rods.
- Engineers examine alternatives to pumping in water to cool the reactor, including an improvised air conditioning system, spraying fuel rods with vaporised water or using the plant's cleaning system.
- Radiation levels in the sea nearby stand at 4,000 times the legal limit.
* Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) says it found a crack in a concrete pit at its No.2 reactor in the Fukushima Daiichi complex at the weekend, generating readings of 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour in the air inside.
* TEPCO has said it will scrap at least four reactors once they are under control, but this could take years or even decades.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the evacuation of residents near the plant will be a 'long-term' operation.
- A U.N. watchdog has suggested widening of the exclusion zone around the station after radiation measured at a village 40 km distant exceeded a criterion for evacuation.
- Japanese manufacturing activity slumped to a two-year low in March and posted the sharpest monthly fall on record as the quake and tsunami hit supply chains and output.
* A total of 12,087 people are confirmed dead by Japan's National Police Agency, while 15,552 are missing. A total of 167,700 households are without electricity and at least 200,000 without running water.
- Estimated cost of damage to top $300 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster. The 1995 Kobe quake cost $100 billion while Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused $81 billion in damage.
(Tokyo bureau; Compiled by World Desk Asia) Keywords: JAPAN QUAKE/SNAPSHOT (daniel.magnowski@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3814) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
(For the main story, click)
* Japan warns it could take months to stop radiation leaking from the nuclear plant.
* The majority of voters polled by a newspaper say a coalition would better handle the crisis and post-quake recovery effort.
* An aide to embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the government's priority is to stop radiation leaks which were scaring the public and hindering work on cooling overheated nuclear fuel rods.
- Engineers examine alternatives to pumping in water to cool the reactor, including an improvised air conditioning system, spraying fuel rods with vaporised water or using the plant's cleaning system.
- Radiation levels in the sea nearby stand at 4,000 times the legal limit.
* Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) says it found a crack in a concrete pit at its No.2 reactor in the Fukushima Daiichi complex at the weekend, generating readings of 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour in the air inside.
* TEPCO has said it will scrap at least four reactors once they are under control, but this could take years or even decades.
- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the evacuation of residents near the plant will be a 'long-term' operation.
- A U.N. watchdog has suggested widening of the exclusion zone around the station after radiation measured at a village 40 km distant exceeded a criterion for evacuation.
- Japanese manufacturing activity slumped to a two-year low in March and posted the sharpest monthly fall on record as the quake and tsunami hit supply chains and output.
* A total of 12,087 people are confirmed dead by Japan's National Police Agency, while 15,552 are missing. A total of 167,700 households are without electricity and at least 200,000 without running water.
- Estimated cost of damage to top $300 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster. The 1995 Kobe quake cost $100 billion while Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused $81 billion in damage.
(Tokyo bureau; Compiled by World Desk Asia) Keywords: JAPAN QUAKE/SNAPSHOT (daniel.magnowski@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3814) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.