Millions of Japanese face rolling blackouts

Communities all across Japan are facing rolling blackouts and food shortages in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that crippled Japanese resources.

The rationing will affect millions of people along the north east coast of Honshu, spreading further south than Tokyo.

The government decided to conserve energy following the damage inflicted upon several of the country's nuclear reactors.

A quarter of all Japan's electricity is supplied by nuclear energy. A total of 11 of its 54 reactors are closed, leaving the country with a power shortage of 10 million kilowatts a day.  

Enforcement of the blackouts has been widely announced causing a quiet panic throughout the north east. 

Supermarkets are running low on supplies as people try to stock up on food that will get them through the dips in electricity. Even in urban areas, people are finding little more than a few bottles of water and bags of crisps on the shelves.

Queues

There are hour-long queues for petrol as public transport is heavily limited, but many stations are now completely out of fuel. Countless aftershocks are also making it difficult to move around the country and are only further unsettling citizens.

The Japanese government has sent 100,000 troops to affected areas armed with 120,000 blankets, 120,000 bottles of water and 110,000 lirers of petrol.

According to public broadcaster NHK, some 430,000 people are living in temporary shelter, with another 24,000 remaining stranded in isolated areas. It is estimated that millions of people in the north east spent a fourth night without food, water or fuel, as aid workers struggle to reach all affected areas.

The current death toll stands at 2,414, although it is expected to rise to 10,000 in the coming days.

Japan pride themselves on being the most prepared country to deal with natural disasters, but they are facing devastation on a scale unknown in their history. Amazingly, rescue workers are still finding survivors in the rubble.