Up to 10,000 people were feared to have perished in Japan following the strongest earthquake ever to hit the country on recent history, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan admitting on Sunday that his nation is facing a disaster almost comparable to the crisis spawned by the aftermath of World War II 65 years ago.

As if the inundating tsunami waves triggered by the magnitude 8.9 quake on Friday were not enough, two nuclear plants operated by Tokyo Electric Corporation in the Fukushima prefecture now face the likelihood of meltdowns as generators needed to cool down the facilities' reactors were knocked down by the tremor's initial jolt.

An explosion was already seen over the weekend but the Japanese government assured its citizens and the world monitoring the developments in Japan that a nuclear fall out would be remote and radiation levels since the quake occurred and the blast happened did not shoot up to alarming point.

Authorities, however, have cautioned that a second explosion could hit one of the plants but they insisted that such event should not be caused for concerns and would not endanger the health of residents living around the area.

Rescuers so far have pulled out 200 bodies trapped on wreckages caused by the raging waves carried by the tsunami, which picked up boats, cars, trailers and even houses as it rolled its way through the inlands of the Miyagi prefecture, reaching miles and miles far from the shorelines before receding back into the sea.

Much of the deaths occurred in Miyagi, according to the Japanese government, as a report published by the Associate Press pointed to possibility that those killed could breach the 10,000 mark though officials clarified that as of Sunday, only 1800 people have been confirmed as killed due to the quake and the tsunami it spawned.

Those who survived are poised to endure hardships as the government struggle to deal with the unprecedented crisis, where an estimated 2 million Japanese households are left without water and electricity, which according to Mr Kan would take several days to restore.

To cope with the power shortage, authorities have implemented rolling blackouts to a number of Japanese cities in order to ration the electricity.

Also, CNN has reported on Monday that food, water and petrol shortages could be the next crises to compound the woes being faced by Mr Kan as reports of bare supermarket shelves, long lines at gas stations, if they are open, and mass of people of crowding trucks that deliver water have merged.

The Prime Minister has acknowledged that "this is Japan's most severe crisis since the war ended 65 years ago," as he stressed that the disaster would serve as the nation's defining moment, depending on how the country would react on the needs of the survivors.

Meanwhile, assistance sent by the international community started arriving as two US aircraft carriers currently anchored near Japan's shores dispatched helicopters to deliver food and water in Miyagi, which has emerged as the hardest-hit among the areas affected by the quake and inundating waves.

Rescue teams are also reported to be sent by other countries, including China and the Philippines, while two teams from the US and one from Singapore reached Japan on Sunday and were deployed to disaster areas.

The feared meltdown in Fukushima power plants prompted the US and other European countries to advise their citizens against travel to Japan at this time while France strongly suggested to its nationals that getting out of Tokyo was the wisest thing to do for now.