Radiation up 400 times in Miyagi, new blast feared at Fukushima

Japanese police say the death toll following Friday's mega-quake and tsunami has now exceeded 1000 people. But fears remain it'll easily be 10 times that. It all comes amid warnings of new threats in the country. Officials fear there's a risk of another explosion at the Fukoshima power plant but remain confident it can withstand the blast like the first reactor did on Saturday. The government is also saying that a second reactor in Fukushima could be experiencing a partial meltdown.

Meanwhile, radiation has increased 400-fold in the region of Miyagi which lies dozens of kilometres further north. It's not clear at the moment if the radiation came from the local nuclear plant or drifted up from the facility in Fukushima following Saturday's explosion. Officials claims the radioactivity released so far does not pose a threat to human health. Having said that, the number of people admitted to hospital suffering exposure is said to be rising amid a series of aftershocks that continue to rock the country.

The Japanese Prime Minister has been addressing the situation and he said that 12,000 people have been rescued so far. He called it was the hardest time for the country since World War II. Meanwhile the emergency services are on high alert in Russia's Far East.