2011 Sendai Earthquake News Round-Up:

Nuclear Meltdown Fears: “Scramble” to cool reactors continues following yesterday’s blast, second blast possible; two reactors likely underwent partial meltdowns; at least 22 Fukushima residents tested positive for radiation exposure; Japanese nuclear accident comparable to Three Mile Island, unlikely to rival Chernobyl; MIT research scientist Dr. Josef Oehmen: “Why I am not worried about Japan’s nuclear reactors“; interactive infographic: Inside Japan’s crippled nuclear plants; primer: What’s a nuclear power plant?

Latest Figures: Japan Meteorological Agency upgrades quake magnitude to 9.0; over 1,500 confirmed dead; final toll likely to exceed 10,000; “increasingly, those being found are the dead.”

A Closer Look: City by city map of earthquake damage; before and after photos, as seen from space; The Big Picture: Earthquake aftermath; inside Tokyo Disneyland during and after the earthquake.

Elsewhere: Volcano erupts in southern Japan, link to earthquake unclear; Fury over Microsoft’s half-hearted, self-centered support for quake victims.

[screencap: spiegelman.]