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earthquake 14:46
a 9.0 caliber earthquake occurs at 14:46 off the coast of honshu island. nuclear reactors 4, 5, and 6 were undergoing routine maitenence, while 4 was defueled in november 2010. a blackout happens but backup diesel generators kick in to keep the cooling systems going. reactors 1 and 2 are not operating correctly. -
earthquake 16:00-21:00
at 16:00, the nuclear and industrial safety agency of japan attempts to gather info. on the 55 japan nuclear reactors. there ar e no reports of radiation outside fukushima's borders. 18:00 the water level reaches the top of the fuel in reactor1, core temp. rises, reactor1's emergency cool. system starts. -
earthquake 19:03-21:00
19:03 japan prime minister naota kan declares nuclear emergency. then, reactor1's fuel becomes fully exposed above water level, fuel damage begins in central core. 21:00 all. evac. order issued to all residents within 3 km/1.9 ml radius. tose within 10 km/6.2 ml radius are told they can remain in homes until said otherwise. -
earthquake 14:52-15:46
reactor 1 automatically turns on at 14:52, then it is manualy shut down at 15:03. 15:27 the first tsunami strikes, hitting the plant. a 14-meter tsunami goes over the seawall designed to protect the plant, flooding the fukushima facility and disabling all the generators. later, as the temp. rose, a system started using steampowered pumps and battery-powered valves. -
hydrogen explosion
masive hydrogen explosion in reactor1, damaging outer shell. four workers injured. -
day2.
fuel rods in reactor3 exposed. japan decides to vent steam inside plant despite risk of hydrogen ignition from oxygen in water. reactor1 given freshwater injection, seawater later. unknown yet, the core of reactor1 is completely melted. reactor2's pressure dangerously high. evac of residents within 3-10 km of fukushima II and 10-20 km of fukushima 1 issued. -
sea/freshwater injections start
partial meltdown was possible in unit3, and unit2's pressure was high but it was cosnidered stable. reactors 1 and 3 were vented to relieve overpressure and refilled with water and boric acid for cooling. the japanese atomic emergency agency rated the situation in unit1 as a level 4 (disaster with local consequences) -
reactor 3 building explodes
the unit 3 reactor building explodes, injurign six workers. it did not release anymore information besides that already being vented. blast damage affected water supply in unit2. water level in unit2 starts falling, while a major part of the fuel in unit3 falls to the bottom of the pressure vessel. core damage begins in unit2. -
major part of the fuel drops down to bottom of unit2
a major part of the fuel drops down to the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel. damage to temp. cooling systems and problems with the venting system prevent cooling. it is in the most severe condition. a fire breaks out at reactor4 involving spent fuel rods. radiation levels rise but drop back down. -
fuel rod storage pool
tempco announces they believe the fuel rod storage pool may have begun boiling. reactor3 causes a cloud of white smoke to rise from the plant. tempco withdraws all but a few of their employees due to radiation spikes, all workers sent home later due to odd sounds from one of the reactor vessel pressure chambers. later thta day,w ater was poured into reactors5&6. -
water from unit 2 flowing into sea
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radioactive water leak continues
despite concrete injections. thye inject a mixture of water-absorbing polymer, sawdust, and shredded paper. tepco announces that the bodies of 2 men killed by the tsunami were found march30. jap. govt. officials says daiichii will release radiation for the next couple of months.