More than 10,000 Japanese citizens are estimated dead in the wake of Friday’s tsunami. Prime Minister Naoto Kan told the nation Sunday that the earthquake and tsunami represent the biggest crisis to face the country since the end of World War II.

Complicating matters greatly, Japan’s nuclear crisis has escalated as authorities attempt to mitigate the threat of multiple potential reactor meltdowns. The cooling system at a sixth reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants has now failed, and one meltdown is occurring. Some 200,000 people have been evacuated and the evacuation zones are being widened.

The implications, if any, for Pacific Rim populations in the plume area of a Fukushima meltdown are estimated to be minimal. (Note that a nuclear fallout plume image attributed to the Australian Radiation Service appears to be a hoax.)

Additionally, there are thousands of U.S. military personnel now in harm’s way assisting with recovery efforts. Please pray for the survivors and rescuers. (A note for perspective: The official estimates of those killed in Haiti’s earthquake Jan. 12, 2010 was more than 230,000.)