Fires at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have caused a run on potassium iodide tablets, one method of protection from exposure to radiation. But many are finding the tablets hard to come by.

Dozens of cables connecting Japan to the U.S. and mainland Asia were affected by the quake.

As the Japanese deal with the wreckage of Friday's disaster, survivors face the threat of dwindling food and fuel supplies.

As the world watches the disaster in Japan unfold, Barry Scanlon, president of the emergency preparedness firm Witt Associates, explains how the U.S. would handle an earthquake similar to Japan's.