Japan Earthquake 2011 A handout photo released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on 13 March 2011 and taken on 12 March 2011 shows the damage to the number 1 reactor building after an explosion at the Fukushima, Japan, nuclear power plant. Technicians struggled on 13 March to prevent a meltdown at a nuclear power plant damaged by a devastating earthquake in Japan as officials said the death toll might rise as high as 2,000. Radiation levels at a damaged nuclear power plant at Fukushima, 240 kilometres north of Tokyo, were rising well above the legal limits, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said. Reactors at the Fukushima I and II plants lost their cooling functions after power and backup generators were cut off by the quake on 11 March 2011. EPA/TEPCO/HO BEST AVAILABLE QUALITY EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES