Inside the Fukushima nuclear plant exclusion zone - in pictures

11 March: The access road at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is flooded by the tsunami after the earthquake Photograph: Tokyo Electric Power Co/AP

20 March: Reactors No 3 (left, with smoke rising), and 4 at the stricken plant Photograph: Air Photo Service/AFP

31 March: A worker wearing a protective suit installs the decontamination area of the quake-proof building, built to expand the radiological protection space at the Fukushima plant Photograph: Tokyo Electric Power Co/Reuters

2 April: A worker points at a cracked concrete pit near the No 2 reactor Photograph: Tokyo Electric Power Co/Reuters

4 April: A US military barge leaves the quay near the plant to refill with pure water Photograph: Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force/Reuters

5 April: Japanese people undergo a screening test for possible nuclear radiation in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

6 April: A remote-controlled crane loads rubble into a remote-controlled truck at the nuclear plant Photograph: Tokyo Electric Power Co/AFP/Getty Images

7 April: A deserted street within the exclusion zone, about 12 miles from the Fukushima plant Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

7 April: A Japanese policeman wearing a radiation protection suit searches for victims in Minamisoma, within the evacuation zone Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

7 April: Dogs wander around Minamisoma Photograph: Hiro Komae/AP

7 April: Police search for tsunami victims inside the evacuation zone Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

9 April: Earthquake victims line up for food at an evacuation shelter in Fukushima city Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

11 April: Police officers control a checkpoint in Minamisoma Photograph: Kyodo News/AP

12 April: Tokyo Electric Power Co workers use a modified Putzmeister 70Z, the world's largest concrete pump mounted on a truck, to pump contaminated water from reactor No 4 at the Fukushima plant Photograph: Tokyo Electric Power Co/AP

12 April: A member of Japan's Self-Defence Force watches as an evacuee is tested for radiation in Koriyama, about 44 miles from the nuclear plant Photograph: Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters

12 April: A dining room and kitchen abandoned in Futaba town Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

12 April: A deserted street in Futaba town, about four miles from the plant Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

12 April: Wheelchairs and hospital beds in Namie, about four miles from the plant Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

12 April: Abandoned flowers wilt in Futaba town Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

12 April: A dead dog in Namie Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

12 April: An empty house in Futaba, about a mile from the plant Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images