When Nuke Planning for the Worst Is Not Enough

As hopes dim for controlling the explosive self-destruction of six decomposing nuclear plants on Japan's northeast coast, safety experts around the world want to know what was missing in the tens of thousands of pages of repeatedly tested emergency drills crafted to cover every eventuality.

Japanese and U.S. safety officials say the emergency plans for almost every plant, everywhere, precisely detail every possible response after an earthquake, flood or tsunamiand explosion. But as the past five days have shown, these disaster plans seemed fine until reality reared back and slapped them silly, and this is just what happened at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex.

DigitalGlobe / AP

A satellite photo shows the damage after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant complex. Steam can be seen venting from the No. 2 reactor building, as well as from the No. 3 reactor building.

Some of the answers are in the numbers.

The plants were meticulously designed to survive a 7.2 quake and were hit with a violent tremor of 9.0.

Plant designers knew that they were tsunami bait, so they built a 25-foot-high protective wall between the ocean and the reactors. Japanese safety officials say that the 30-foot wave triggered by the quake didn't even pause as it thundered toward the six reactors in the complex.