Japan’s Fukushima plant workers evacuate after tsunami warning

BBC:

Workers at Japan’s embattled Fukushima nuclear plant were evacuated earlier on Wednesday after tsunami warnings were issued across the country.

The plant’s operator said all 4,000 of its workers had been evacuated, adding that there were no “abnormalities” detected.

It comes after a massive 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s far eastern coast, triggering warnings across the Pacific.

For many in Fukushima prefecture, the warning is likely to bring back memories of one of the worst nuclear disasters the world has seen.

In March 2011, Japan was hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that went on to kill more than 18,000 people.

The tsunami flooded the plant, disabling its emergency generators and causing them to overheat – leading to a nuclear meltdown.

Hundreds of tons of extremely hazardous material still remain at Fukushima – and the challenges and controversies surrounding it are still very much present even now, more than 14 years later.