1. The Fukushima reactors are an old version of the BWRs and while they do have containment, it's not 100% foolproof and at least one of the reactors already has a damaged containment due to one of the explosions.
2. People will die from this accident. It has been raised to a Level 5, which is the same level as the Three Mile Island accident. Level 5 signifies "severe damage to a reactor core, release of large quantities of radiation with a high probability of significant public exposure and several deaths from radiation." Several of the reactor cores are significantly damaged/melted.
3. The controlled releases of steam are no longer the issue in terms of radioactivity emissions. The steam is an issue in terms of venting hydrogen gas and possibly causing more explosions. The radioactivity being emitting now is much worse. At least one of the spent fuel ponds boiled dry, and the rods are on fire releasing ash and smoke into the atmosphere.