This was the biggest earthquake in the history of Japan, the fifth compared with the most violent seisms recorded in the world.

The number of people dead and missing after the earthquake and the tsunami has increased in the recent days. According to the latest police reports, 3,373 people have been confirmed dead, 6,746 people have disappeared and 1,879 have been injured in the disaster, although the figures could be much higher.

But besides these terrible incidents, there was a nuclear threat: the earthquake seriously affected four of the six nuclear reactors in Fukushima, causing radiation leaks, which according to the media have exceeded between a hundred and ten thousand times the legal limits.

The government admitted that the leaks “could affect human health”. The authorities also announced the evacuation of the residents living ten kilometers near Fukushima, while the people living between ten and twenty kilometers from the reactors will be next evacuated. The people living twenty to thirty kilometers from the reactors were asked to stay home with their windows closed, and over 200,000 doses of iodide tablets were distributed to protect the residents from the effects of radiation.

Nuclear? No, thank you
The accident in the Japanese nuclear central put on the table once again the issue of the viability of nuclear energy, in a time when, despite the civil society’s criticism, nuclear power was gaining support in the developed countries and emerging economies.

“What happened in Japan opens a new chapter in the history of the developed world”, said German chancellor Angela Merkel, announcing that Germany will temporarily close down seven of its 17 nuclear plants currently operating. Merkel made the decision after having promoted a bill that extended the operation of the centrals, a decision which was strongly opposed by the German citizens.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government also suspended several projects for the renovation of its nuclear plants.

The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin ordered to examine the future of the nuclear sector in Russia, while the European Union will discuss in an extraordinary meeting in Brussels whether to carry out resistance tests in its nuclear plants.

In France, environmental groups demand a referendum to decide on the future of nuclear power in the country, while conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy said his administration supported nuclear energy and that France “is the country with the safest nuclear power sector”.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, the country that suffered one of the worst earthquakes in its history is taking the first steps towards the installation of a nuclear plant. Sebastian Piñera’s administration in Chile is planning to sign a nuclear development project during the visit to that country by US President Barack Obama. This led to strong criticism by environmental groups, which claim that just like Japan, Chile is a seismic country.