An analyst interviewed by NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation), says until the reactor control rooms are turned  on at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, plant operators will not know what is going on inside the reactors.

They are trying to get electric power to reactor 2 control room, because reactor 2 is still intact (reactors 1, 3 & 4 blew up).

Reactor 2 is leaking radioactive water, and emitting smoke. Restoring power to the control room will allow them to use the control room’s instruments and gauges to find out what is wrong with the reactor. In other words they are flying blind right now.

Another problem is that it looks like the reactor cores are leaking highly radioactive water.  The analyst says the basements, under the reactors, are so full it’s like “swimming pools”.