About 100 drums containing low-level nuclear waste at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant were knocked over by Monday's earthquake and some lost their lids, Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday. Following the earthquake, a fire broke out at a facility of Tokyo Electric Power's nuclear plant at Kashiwazaki city. Checks were being made as to possible effects on the environment, Kyodo added. Officials were not immediately available for comment. The plant, the world's biggest nuclear power plant, reported a fire and a radiation leak at the facility after Monday's quake. More than 12,000 people huddled in evacuation centers in northwest Japan after the earthquake flattened homes, killing nine elderly people and injuring around 1,000, Reuters reported. As aftershocks continued, forecasts for wet weather raised fears of mudslides that could add to the devastation.
