Japan nuclear crisis: meltdown fears heighten?

The fears of a meltdown at Fukushima plant in Japan heightened further today when officials said it “appears" that ALL three nuclear reactors are going into meltdown, promoting some experts to say a partial meltdown was underway, although the IAEA hasn't clarified this. If all three reactors were to go into meltdown what would be the effect on a) the immediate area b) Japan as a whole and c) the planet? I continue to hope that as the US and IAEA send nuclear experts to Japan to assist in this cataclysmic crisis any meltdown can be prevented and the Japanese can be spared from another crisis. My thoughts are with Japan.