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This episode of Against the Odds contains explicit language. Please be advised.

It's March 4, 2011, inside the control room of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Engineers scurry from their desks to the instrument panels that run the reactors. Supervisor Ikuo Izawa steps forward to address them.

T-60 seconds since the earthquake. Magnitude 7.5.

Epicenter is a few miles away. Extensive damage to the roads, so outside relief will be delayed. That means the clock is ticking everyone.

Have we confirmed reactor shutdown? He looks expectedly towards the pale green wall of instrument panels. It's covered with hundreds of dials, engages and indicator lights like the cockpit of a giant airplane.

Standing at the panel is Nobuoru Homa Izawa's deputy. He turns around. Confirm shutdown. Izawa nods and turns to another of his workers, a young engineer standing near a lever at the far end of the panel.

Commence cooling. The lever controls the cooling system for Unit 1, one of six reactors at the plant. Izawa adjusts his glasses as he watches the engineer crank the lever. His practice eyes notice something almost immediately.

Did you check the reactor pressure first? The engineer freezes. Then looks at Izawa and fright. Izawa frowns. Then strides over to examine the gate himself.

It looks quite high to me. Izawa turns back to his deputy. Homa, yes sir? Commence venting in reactor 1. We need to reduce the pressure. Homa nods. But before he can move.

All the lights go out, above their heads and on the instrument panels. They've lost power, and no power means no way to cool the reactor, which could lead to dangerously high temperatures in the core, and eventually melt down.

In the dark, Izawa calls out to Homa again.

He sees a flashlight click on and watches in the dim light as Homa hustles over the far end of the instrument panel.

Back up generators engaged.

The lights flicker, then pop back on. Izawa nods. He's about to repeat the order to vent the reactor when a man steps out of the shadows and shouts.

Freeze!

It's an instructor holding a clipboard. At his command, everyone stops what they're doing. Izawa calls out.

That's the end of the drill. Nice work everyone.

Izawa goes over to the young engineer who forgot to check the reactor pressure and gives him a pat on the back. He likes to reassure and encourage his workers when they make mistakes.

Then he turns to the instructor, who's checking boxes on his clipboard.

Well, what do you think? That was nearly perfect.

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