Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
Japan declared a state of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in the evacuation of nearby residents. Officials from the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported that radiation levels inside the plant were up to 1,000 times normal levels, and that radiation levels outside the plant were up to eight times normal levels. Later, a state of emergency was also declared at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant about south. Experts described the Fukushima disaster was not as bad as the Chernobyl disaster, but worse than the Three Mile Island accident.