Horror images of Japan tsunami

Gone .... Sendai neighbourhood wiped out

THIS haunting image shows the devastating aftermath of the Japanese tsunami — an entire neighbourhood simply wiped out.

The before and after pictures of the once bustling residential streets in the north-eastern city of Sendai show the sheer scale of the destruction caused when the huge wall of water hit on March 11.

In one rows of cosy homes sit side by side — in the other foundations are the only reminder that the houses ever stood.

More heartbreaking scenes emerged from nearby Higashimatsushima City, where huge pits are being dug for a mass burial.

As the official death toll is expected to reach 18,000, local volunteers in hazmat suits are preparing to bury their neighbours, friends and even family in long rows separated by simple wooden slats.

Tragic ... Japanese survivors prepare to bury the dead in mass graves

AP

As the teams search slowly through the rubble of their former streets, the only pauses are to say a prayer when they come across a body.

The mass graves are a sign of how desperate Japan has become. It is almost unheard of for a body to be buried, with cremation being widely used instead.

Prayers ...workers stop as they find another body in the rubble

Many survivors have little time to mourn as they are still watching another unfolding tragedy in their battered country.

Workers were evacuated from the Fukushima power plant this morning after smoke was seen billowing from the No3 reactor.

The Fukushima 50 — 580 workers who cover shifts in groups of 50 — are battling to save the shattered nuclear plant by spraying sea water on its shell to keep it cool after its cooling systems were knocked out last week.

Radiation levels in the plant are now so high, that they know they face certain death, but stay on at the plant to protect the rest of the population from further disaster.

Ominous ... smoke rises from the Fukushima plant

Their plans suffered a setback today, when government officials said the sea water being pumped on to the plant could be CORRODING it.

A government spokesman said: "At the moment, we are not so optimistic that there will be a breakthrough."

Shoppers are shunning food grown close to the Fukushima plant, after high levels of radiation were found in milk and spinach.

The government say it is not a danger to health, but they have warned locals not to drink the tap water.

There may be some good news, according to international watchdog the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the situation at the plant is stabilising, but it still remains highly dangerous.