Indeed, there are many reasons why this accident will almost certainly not reach the level of devastation which occurred at Chernobyl, many of which relate to the Japanese plant's far superior safety mechanisms and dedication of its operators.

However, don't we sell ourselves short with the implication that any nuclear accident of a scale less than Chernobyl is a tolerable accident? Although the radiation released by this latest accident is still well constrained, and the number of persons directly affected is presumed to be rather small, this power plant and very possibly a large section of the shoreline it sits on are expected to become a complete write-off to civilization at large.

A massive earthquake+tsunami at a coal-fired, gas-fired, hydroelectric, and even solar/wind/wave-motion power plant would have wrought similar damage, likely even similar casualties. However, those plants could be rebuilt at the same location, and with sturdier construction.