"TOKYO -- Japan on Monday expanded the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation, as a strong aftershock rattled the area one month after a quake and tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
A magnitude 7.1 tremor shook buildings in Tokyo and a wide swathe of eastern Japan on Monday evening, triggering a small tsunami alert. NHK state television said it caused the off-site power supply for two damaged reactors to shut down.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the aftershock struck 38 km (24 miles) west of the city of Iwaki, at a depth of 13 km (8 miles).
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which operates the plant, said workers had stopped pouring cooling water on reactors No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 at Fukushima."
Yoko Kubota and Yoko Nishikawa report for Reuters April 11, 2011.
SEE ALSO:
"Lack of Data Heightens Japan’s Nuclear Crisis" (New York Times)
"High Radiation Levels Found Beyond 30-Km Radius" (Asahi Shimbun)
"Japan Set To Extend Evacuation Zone" (Reuters)
"Living with Radiation: A Spreading Cloud of Economic And Human Costs " (Economist)
"Strong Aftershock as Japan Urges More Evacuations" (New York Times)
"Japan Ready To Stop Pumping Radioactive Water Into Sea" (Reuters)
"Evac Area To Soon Be Declared 'Off-Limits'" (Kyodo News)
"Japan Expands Nuclear Evacuation Zone as New Quake Hits"
Source: Reuters, 04/11/2011
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