Nuclear Power Plant In Japan Declares Emergency Evacuation

Japan has evacuated thousands of people surrounding a Nuclear Power Plant after problems arose with the cooling system following the earthquake this morning.Mathew L. Wald - New York Times

Some 3,000 people were told to leave a 2-mile radius around the Fukushima No. 1 plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power and located in Fukushima Prefecture, after a mechanical failure in the cooling system, government officials said.

The evacuation was described as precautionary. Near midnight Japan time on Friday, Jiji Press, a Japanese news agency, quoted Trade Ministry officials as saying that the cooling system would be reactivated and should resume normal operations.

Full article with photos at nytimes.com