Water levels were restored after the first decrease, but the rods remained partially exposed late Monday night, increasing the risk of the spread of radiation and the potential for an eventual meltdown.

The cascading troubles in the Fukushima Daiichi plant compounded the immense challenges faced by the Tokyo government.

Later, a top Japanese official said the fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting.

The nuclear crisis is unlikely to turn into another Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear accident, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog said on Monday.

It is “unlikely that the accident would develop” like Chernobyl, Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said, noting several differences, including the design and structure of the nuclear plants.

Millions of people in Japan’s devastated northeast were spending a fourth night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures, as tens of thousands of rescue workers struggled to reach them.

A tide of bodies washed up along the coastline on Monday, overwhelming crematoriums, exhausting supplies of body bags and adding to the spiraling humanitarian, economic and nuclear crisis after the massive earthquake and tsunami.

In one town in a neighboring prefecture, the crematorium was unable to handle the large number of bodies being brought in for funerals. “We have already begun cremations, but we can only handle 18 bodies a day. We are overwhelmed and are asking other cites to help us deal with bodies,” Katsuhiko Abe, an official in Soma, said.

While the official death toll rose to nearly 1,900, the discovery of the washed-up bodies and other reports of deaths suggest the true number is much higher. In Miyagi, the police chief has said 10,000 people are estimated to have died in his province alone.

The outspoken governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, told reporters Monday that the disaster was “punishment from heaven” because Japanese have become greedy.

Japan faces a recovery and reconstruction bill of at least $180 billion, or 3 percent of its annual economic output and more than 50 percent higher than the total cost of 1995’s earthquake in Kobe.

Insurance policies on nuclear plants in Japan exclude coverage for property damage or liabilities caused by earthquakes or tsunamis, a person familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Those exclusions would apply to Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc’s Fukushima reactors, which were damaged in last Friday’s record temblor.

Germany has suspended a coalition agreement to delay closing the nation’s ageing nuclear power stations, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday after the Japanese crisis stiffened opposition to an unpopular deal.

Last year, the coalition agreed to prolong the life of the 17 nuclear plants — some of which are well over 30 years old — beyond their original planned closure dates. On Monday Merkel said this agreement would now be suspended for three months.