An explosion and feared meltdown at one of Japan’s nuclear plants Saturday exposed the scale of the disaster facing the country after a massive quake and tsunami left 1,000 feared dead

An explosion and feared meltdown at one of Japan's nuclear plants Saturday exposed the scale of the disaster facing the country after a massive quake and tsunami left 1,000 feared dead.
 
Reactor cooling systems failed at two plants after Friday's record 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit, unleashing a terrifying 10-metre (33-foot) wave that tore through coastal towns and cities, destroying all in its path. Smoke was seen billowing from the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant about 250 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo after an explosion at the ageing facility destroyed the walls and roof, reports said. The blast reportedly left several workers injured.
  
Kyodo News agency said radioactive caesium had been detected near the site, quoting the Japanese nuclear safety commission. Radioactivity rose 20-fold outside, reports said. The plant "may be experiencing nuclear meltdown", Kyodo and Jiji reported before the explosion, while public broadcaster NHK quoted the safety agency as saying metal tubes that contain uranium fuel may have melted.
  
The cooling system of the plant was damaged in the massive earthquake that struck the region 24 hours earlier, leaving authorities scrambling to fix the problem and evacuate more than 45,000 residents within a 10-kilometre radius.
  
Thousands were also evacuated from near a second plant, Fukushima No. 2, which also suffered damage to its cooling system. Parts of the No. 1 reactor's nuclear fuel rods were briefly exposed to the air Saturday after cooling water levels dropped and a fire engine was pumping water into the reactor, Jiji Press reported.
  
A spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) told AFP: "We are trying to raise the water level." The atomic emergency came as the country struggled to assess the full extent of the devastation wreaked by the massive tsunami, which was unleashed by the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan.
  
The towering wall of water pulverized the northeastern city of Sendai, where police reportedly said 200-300 bodies had been found on the coast. More than 215,000 people were in emergency shelters, police said.
  
An AFP tally compiled from national and provincial police data put the confirmed death toll at least 703. "It is believed that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

Authorities said more than 3,000 homes were destroyed or swept away and tens of thousands of people spent the night in emergency shelters.

In a rare piece of good news, a ship that was earlier reported missing was found swept out to sea and all 81 people aboard were airlifted to safety.

Japan sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and Tokyo is in one of its most dangerous areas, where three continental plates are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.