did the earthquake kill thousands, or did the total failure of a nuclear power plant kill them?

a tsunami can kill just as many people as an earth quake.

the subsequent deaths due to a destroyed power plant are another matter. from the article I get the impression that nuclear plants are built to withstand a lot of abuse and fuckups.

i see no reason to shy away from nuclear power. their power producing companies will know what kind of plants to run. we don't.