Following are main developments today following the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan on Friday
- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.
- Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe. A hydrogen explosion jolts the No 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240km north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says 11 people were injured.
- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.
- Nuclear fuel rods at the No 2 reactor are fully exposed, news agency Jiji says, meaning a meltdown cannot be ruled out. This would raise the risk of a radioactive leak.
- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.
- Switzerland's energy minister says suspends approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revisited.
- - US president Barack Obama reiterates US offers of assistance to Japan, saying he is heartbroken by the scenes of devastation
- US warships and planes helping relief efforts have moved away from Japan's Pacific coast temporarily because of low-level radiation.
- Authorities have set up a 20km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10km around Fukushima Daini.
- Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.
- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost two million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.
- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect three million customers, including large factories, buildings and households.
- Japan's Nikkei share index falls more than 6 per cent, dragging European stocks to their lowest in three months.
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.