The Japanese military pumped jets of water from special fire trucks into a damaged reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant Thursday in a desperate bid to bring down temperatures, as high radiation levels were reported outside the evacuation zone.
High radiation levels have been detected 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) from the plant, beyond the 12.4-mile (20-kilometer) zone designated by authorities, broadcaster NHK reported.
The situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant remains "very serious," the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday, adding there had been no major deterioration since Wednesday.
Japan's science ministry said exposure to the levels detected for a period of six hours would be the equivalent of the maximum safe level a person could absorb in a year.
The US urged its citizens to evacuate from a radius of 50 miles from the plant, while Singapore's government advised its citizens to evacuate areas which are within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of the plant.
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The US said it was sending aircraft to help Americans worried about spreading radiation leave the country, Reuters reported.
A U.S. State Department official said flights would be added for Americans to leave Japan, and family of embassy staff had been authorized to go if they wanted.
U.S. officials expressed alarm about leaking radiation but took pains not to criticize Japan's government, which appears overwhelmed by the crisis. Washington's actions indicated a divide with its close ally about the preciousness of the world's worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
The US military is also allowing families of troops and civilian employees stationed on the Japanese island of Honshu to leave, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
"It's an authorization that family members may voluntarily depart from the island of Honshu," Defense Department spokesman Colonel David Lapan said.
"The designated safe haven for this authorization is the US."
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiyo Amano departed for Japan, where he said he hoped to visit the plant with a team of experts.
Chinook military helicopters dumped tons of water in a desperate bid to cool reactors crippled by the earthquake to prevent a catastrophic meltdown.
Fire engines were put into action to douse fuel rods inside reactors and containment pools to stop them from degrading due to exposure to the air and emitting dangerous radioactive material, AFP reported.
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