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Radiation inside the Fukushima No. 1 Plant is more than 1,000 times the normal level, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety agency reported. Outside the reactor, CNN is reporting that the radiation levels are eight times what they should be.

The government ordered the evacuation of about 3,000 residents within a two-mile radius of the nuclear plant.

Only a fraction of Japan’s nuclear power plants have been shut down, but the Fukushima plant (which is about 160 miles north of Tokyo) is having difficulty cooling the heat that the plant produces.

The plant depends on external electricity to cool the plant. If the plant cannot cool down and the coolant boils, the fuel rods will melt, and radioactive material may leak. Fukushima’s emergency generators were damaged by the tsunami.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today that the U.S. Air Force has sent backup generators; however, a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force has said they have not sent any supplies.

Reach Reporter Raquel Estupinan here.