Fukushima – the devastating accident
On March 11, 2011, the massive oceanic earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused major damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
In reactor units 1–4, both the external power supply and the emergency power supply failed. Core meltdowns and hydrogen explosions occurred.
Particularly in the first few days after a nuclear disaster, significant amounts of radioactive material were released into the atmosphere.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed 22,000 Japanese.
