the officials now put it at the same level as the chernobyl disaster of 1986. joe brown is live in washington, good morning, joel, what s the latest? reporter: betty, good morning to you. the severity of chernobyl is a dubious benchmark that japan does not want to meet, but for the first timex perts are admitting that it could. reporter: the crisis at japan s nuclear power plant is as serious as chernobyl. the officials raise the severity level at the fukushima daiichi plant from a five to the seven, the highest possible after re-assessing the impact of radiation leaks on food, air, and water. the country s nuclear agency insists that radiation levels are still less than the 1986 disaster in the former soviet union. but the operator of the plant warns emissions could exceed chernobyl if the crisis continues. engineers in japan are desperately trying to get the situation under control, but aftershocks continue to rattle the region. this photo shows a fire that broke out at