6:46 a.m. Italian time: Northeast Japan: A 9.0 earthquake and tsunami cause approximately 20,000 deaths, reaching as far north as the Tokyo region. The devastating tsunami that follows the earthquake causes even greater damage throughout the area. Ten nuclear power plants automatically shut down. The concrete outer casing of Fukushima reactor 1 explodes due to the pressure of the accumulated gas. Radiation in the area is on the order of 1 mSv per hour (about the annual dose of a Milanese). The accident is classified by the Japanese authorities initially as Level 4, and then as the situation worsens, as Level 6 on a scale from 1 to 7 (Level 7 – Major release of radioactive material. Example: Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986, Level 6 – Significant release. Example: Kyshtym, Russia, 1957; Level 5 – Limited release. Example: Three Mile Island, US, 1979, and Windscale, UK, 1957; Level 4 – Minor release with at least one death from radiation. Example: Tokaimura, Japan, 1999; Exposure of a member of public above statutory annual limit.
