Japan raced to avert a nuclear meltdown today by flooding a nuclear reactor with seawater after Friday's massive earthquake left more than 600 people dead and thousands more missing. Towns in the country's northeast coast were literally wiped away by an ensuing tsunami, leaving countless people seeking shelter in the aftermath of the quake, which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale and was the country's strongest recorded quake. -- Lloyd Young 44 photos total)
A resident is rescued from debris in Natori, Miyagi, northern Japan March 12 after one of the country's strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit its eastern coast March 11. (Asahi Shimbun, Noboru Tomura/Associated Press)
A fishing boat rests surrounded by debri in the city of Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture on March 12. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images) # 
Rescue workers search for victims from the rubble in Rikuzentakata, northern Japan, March 13 after the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami struck the area. (Toru Hana/Reuters) # 
People walk on a muddy road as they evacuate to a shelter in Natori city, Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (AFP/Getty Images) #
A survivor looks at a board showing names of other survivors at a shelter in a village ruined by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, in Rikuzentakata in Iwate prefecture, northeast Japan March 13. (Lee Jae-Won/Reuters) # 
People build a raft on the roof of a building struck by a tsunami and earthquake at Sendai Airport in northeastern Japan March 12. Japan confronted devastation along its northeastern coast on Saturday, with fires raging and parts of some cities under water after a massive earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
Minamisanriku is submerged after Friday's strong earthquake-triggered tsunami in Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, March 12. (Kyodo News) # 
A woman cries after learning that her mother was successfully rescued from a building following an earthquake and tsunami in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Reuters) # 
People in a floating container are rescued from a building following an earthquake and tsunami in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Reuters) # 
An official in protective gear talks to a woman who is from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Koriyama March 13. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed on Saturday there has been an explosion and radiation leakage at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) # 
A helicopter flies past Japan's Fukushima Daiichi No.1 Nuclear reactor March 12. An explosion blew the roof off the unstable reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday, Japanese media said, raising fears of a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged in the massive earthquake that hit Japan. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) # 
Officials in protective gear check for signs of radiation on children who are from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Koriyama. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) # 
Japanese soldiers make their way atop a wall to get around vehicles swept by a tsunami at Kesennnuma, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
A child is held by rescue workers after being rescued from a building at Kesennuma, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
Japanese soldiers carry on with rescue operations as they walk past a damaged building in the city of Rikuzentakada in Iwate prefecture on March 12. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images) # 
A man holding a dog walks on a street in Kesennuma city, Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (AFP/Getty Images) # 
A man rides a bicycle through a debris-strewn street in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
A man who was trapped by a tsunami is rescued by a Japan Self-Defense Force soldier in Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan March 12. Japan confronted devastation along its northeastern coast on Saturday, with fires raging and parts of some cities under water after a massive earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
Displaced vehicles are seen at Sendai Port in Sendai, northeastern Japan March 12. (Koji Sasahara/Associated Press # 
Cars of a train lie overturned in Shinchi March 12 after being washed away by an earthquake-triggered tsunami. The powerful tsunami created by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded swept away Japan's east coast. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
A vessel sits after it was washed away by tsunami into urban area in Kesennuma, Miyagi, northern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
Burned-out cars are pictured at Hitachi Harbour, Ibaraki Prefecture in northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
Cargo containers are strewn about in Sendai Japan March 12. Japan launched a massive military rescue operation Saturday after a giant, earthquake-fed tsunami killed hundreds of people and turned the northeastern coast into a swampy wasteland, while authorities braced for a possible meltdown at a nuclear reactor. (Itsuo Inouye/Asociated Press) # 
A man walks outside a two-story house, with its first floor structure destroyed by the tsunami in Natori March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
Vehicles and rubble cover a road in Kesennuma Japan March 12 after being washed away by an earthquake-triggered tsunami. (Miho Iketani/Associated Press/The Yomiuri Shimbum) # 
Rescue workers carry a quake victim on a stretcher in Miyako March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
Vessels washed away by the tsunami sit on land in Minami Soma, Fukushima, northern Japan March 12. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) # 
Cracks are seen on the snow-covered ground in woodlands near the earthquake and tsunami-devastated town of Sendai March 12. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters) # 
A vehicle is half submerged at a crossroad in Sendai, northeastern Japan, March 12. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters) # 
Smoke rises from a burning factory in Sendai March 12. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
An aerial view shows tsunami damage and flooding in Natori city, Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images) # 
Buildings are covered with mud in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, March 12. (Naoki Ueda/The Yomiuri Shimbum/Associated Press) # 
A man and child look out over destroyed homes March 12, a day after the tsunami and earthquake hit northeastern Japan. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
A volunteer firefighter searches for victims of the tsunami at Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan March 13. (Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press) # 
People walk on debris scattered across the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP/Getty Images) # 
Pictures left in a destroyed building in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan March 12. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
People evacuated from a nursing home located in the evacuation area around the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, rest at a temporary shelter in Koriyama, March 13. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed on Saturday there has been an explosion and radiation leakage at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) # 
People evacuate to higher ground during a tsunami warning after the area was struck by an earthquake and tsunami in Iwate prefecture March 12. (Kyodo/Reuters) # 
A soldier carries an elderly woman on his back as people are evacuated to a shelter at Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture on March 12. (Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images) # 
Evacuees hold blankets as they stand in a line to enter a temporary shelter after radiation leaked from an earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor, in Koriyama, northeastern Japan March 12. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters) # 
People who were isolated at an elementary school, head for a safe place in Sendai, northern Japan Saturday, March 12. (Asahi Shimbun, Shiro Nishihata/Associated Press) # 
A resident is rescued by a self-defense force helicopter in Rikuzentakata, Iwate, northern Japan March 12 after one of the country's strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit its eastern coast on March 11. (Asahi Shimbun, Shiro Nishihata/Associated Press) # 
People wait to be rescued atop a building with the letters "SOS" in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture March 12. (Yomiuri/Reuters) # 
A man prays in front of a house devastated by tsunami in Minami Soma, Fukushima, northern Japan after Japan's biggest recorded earthquake slammed into its eastern coast March 11. #
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