500 bone marrow transplant centres in Europe put on standby to treat victims from Japan --More than 140,000 residents within 19 miles of the plant were ordered to stay indoors --France's Nuclear Safety Authority ranks crisis second only in gravity to Chernobyl in 1986 16 Mar 2011 Japan was consumed by panic last night as the nuclear crisis threatened to spiral out of control. Fears of 'an apocalypse' were raised as radiation levels soared - and experts warned the crippled Fukushima plant had become a nuclear risk second only to the Chernobyl disaster. More than 140,000 residents within 19 miles of the plant were ordered to stay indoors - in addition to the 180,000 already evacuated from the immediate area... In Europe, some 500 bone marrow transplant centres were put on standby to treat any victims from Japan.