Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Hydrogen Blast, Tsunami Scare Rattle Quake-Weary Japanese VOA News March 14, 2011 A woman cries while sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan, March 14, 2011 Photo: Reuters A woman cries while sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan, March 14, 2011 A hydrogen explosion at a nuclear power plant and a tsunami false alarm added to the misery Monday in Japan, where tens of thousands of earthquake victims remain huddled in makeshift shelters awaiting help. About 100,000 Japanese troops, backed by relief teams from more than a dozen countries, are searching for survivors in the debris of Friday's earthquake and tsunami, which reduced whole towns and villages to rubble. Power shortages and massive damage to infrastructure are complicating efforts to reach the hardest-hit areas. More than 1,000 bodies were found Monday along the shores of one northeastern province, and the Kyodo news agency said another 1,000 bodies were found at a second location in hard-hit Miyagi province. The total death toll is expected to reach more than 10,000, with confirmed totals rising hourly. Shortly before mid-day, a suspected hydrogen explosion blew the outer walls off the building housing the Number 3 unit at the Fukushima power plant, the same plant where a similar blast hit the Number 1 unit Saturday. Officials have also reported a total failure of the cooling system at the plant's Number 2 unit, raising fears of yet another explosion. Officials said the containment vessel in Unit 2 was intact and there was little danger of a major radiation leak, but nearby residents were ordered to stay in their homes. Six workers were injured in Monday's blast. Almost 200,000 people have already been evacuated from areas around nuclear power stations with damaged cooling systems, where engineers have been venting steam and pumping in seawater in a desperate effort to avoid nuclear meltdowns. The commander of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which has been assisting in relief efforts from about 160 kilometers offshore, said the American fleet had moved away from the Fukushima plant after low levels of radiation were detected on 17 crewmen. He said the radiation was easily washed off. Also Monday, officials sounded tsunami warnings and ordered residents to head for higher ground along the devastated northeastern coast near the city of Sendai following a major aftershock. The alert turned out to be a false alarm but further jangled the nerves of a frightened population. In Tokyo, residents returned to shops and offices at the start of a new work week, coping with rolling blackouts and reduced transit service as authorities deal with limited power-generating capacity. Fears that industrial production will be disrupted helped push the main stock index to its lowest levels since November. There is no electricity at all in vast stretches of the northeast region, where tens of thousands of homeless residents spent a third night in near-freezing temperatures without heat or running water. Relief crews are rushing to provide food and water, but are hard-pressed to reach many of those in greatest need. Two U.S. search-and-rescue teams with 144 staff and 12 dogs were among the teams that began clawing through the ruins at first light Monday in search of survivors. A 15-member Chinese team was also at work and Japan's Kyodo news agency said the Defense Ministry will activate reserves to assist in relief operations, the first time it has ever done so. Friday's earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9, making it the most powerful ever recorded in Japan and the fifth strongest since 1900. .