Temple U evacuating students from Tokyo campus

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials at Temple University in Philadelphia say they are evacuating about 200 American students from the school’s campus in Japan because of radiation fears.

Temple President Ann Weaver Hart said in a statement today that the decision was based on a State Department warning and data from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Last week’s magnitude-9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan killed thousands and destroyed a nuclear plant that is now leaking radiation.

Powerful aftershocks have rattled cities and led to power problems in Tokyo, where Temple has had a campus since 1982.

Temple-Japan initially canceled classes for two weeks after the disaster. Hart now says students are being evacuated by a charter flight via Hong Kong.