Four Fukushima nuclear reactors may now be damaged

A hydrogen blast hit the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant’s No. 4 reactor, bringing the number of the complex's damaged reactors possibly to four. It has a total of six reactors.

Sea water is being pumped to cool the reactors and prevent the uncontrolled release of radioactive material.

Tokyo Elerctric Power Co. said the containment chamber of the No. 2 reactor may be damaged after a blast at 6:14 a.m. today and radiation leakage is possible.

TEPCO has warned that the Unit 2 reactor could overheat and explode like Unit 1 and Unit 3 previously.

"In light of the incidents that have occurred at Units 1 and 3, we are considering applying prevention measures to the wall of the reactor building to ventilate the hydrogen gas contained in Unit 2," the company stated in its website.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan appealed for calm as he said the danger of further radiation leaks was rising at the crippled nuclear facility, 135 miles north of Tokyo.

Facing limited power plants, TEPCO started unprecedented rolling blackouts on Monday morning. Tokyo and eight prefectures in TEPCO’s service area have been divided into five regions for rotated outages. The blackouts are expected to last at least until the end of April.