SNAPSHOT - Japan's nuclear crisis

TOKYO, March 27  - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan and crippled a nuclear power station, raising the risk of uncontrolled radiation.
- The Tokyo Electric Company (TEPCO), which operates the quake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, says radiation levels in water accumulating in the No. 2 reactor soared to 10 million times the usual level.
Workers had been trying to pump radioactive water out of the station. They were evacuated to prevent further exposure to radiation. Three staff were taken to hospital on Thursday owing to excessive radiation levels.
- The Japanese nuclear safety agency says tests reveal levels of radioactivity up to 1,850 times the usual level in seawater offshore the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant -- compared to 1,250 measured on Saturday.
- Senior agency official says high levels of radiation in water accumulated in turbine buildings are probably caused by leakage from reactor vessels. Engineers proceed with efforts to pump radioactive water from the plant 240 km (150 miles) north Tokyo two weeks after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami.
- Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), tells the New York Times the emergency "is a very serious accident by all standards" and could go on for weeks. The IAEA sends new teams to Japan to monitor radiation and assess contamination of food.
- Officials on Saturday said iodine 131 levels in seawater 30 km (18 miles) from the coastal complex were within acceptable limits established by regulations and the contamination posed little risk to aquatic life.
- The situation at the plant is not worsening but vigilance is needed, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Saturday.
- Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says storage of contaminated water must be handled carefully. It also said there was no evidence to suggest the reactor itself had been damaged.
- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says it is time to reassess the emergency response framework of the international nuclear power industry. Leaders agreed at a European Union summit to submit reactors to "stress tests".
- Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the situation at the nuclear power plant was not getting worse, but is still nowhere near resolution.
* Kan's approval ratings have edged higher, according to the first opinion poll taken since the quake and tsunami, with nearly two-thirds of respondents favouring a tax hike for reconstruction, a survey published by Kyodo news agency shows.
But more than half disapprove of how the crisis involving the stricken nuclear plant has been handled.
- Japan chief cabinet secretary says 130,000 people living in an outer circle around Fukushima should consider leaving.
- Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda says the government wants an extra post-quake budget by the end of April. Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano says the government may have to reconsider a plan to cut corporate tax rates.
- Estimated cost of damage from the earthquake and tsunami to top $300 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster. The 1995 Kobe quake cost $100 billion while Hurricane Katrina caused $81 billion in damage.
* Official death toll from earthquake and tsunami exceeds 10,489, according to national police. Total number of missing stands at 16,621. Nearly a quarter of a million people are living in shelters.