Tokyo: A massive earthquake struck Japan on
Friday, setting off a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland
along the northern part of the country and threatened coastal areas throughout
the Pacific.
(In Pics: Japan earthquake triggers tsunami)
Walls of water swept
away houses and cars in northern Japan and pushed ships aground. Trains were
shut down across central and northern Japan, including Tokyo, and air travel was
severely disrupted. A ship carrying more than 100 people was swept away by the
tsunami, Kyodo News reported.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disaster
caused major damage across wide areas. Associated
Press reports Japanese police say 200 to 300 bodies have been found in a
northeastern coastal area. (Japan
PM: Quake caused major damage)
The United States Geological Survey
said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9, which the agency labeled a "mega"
quake. The tremor occurred at about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo and at a
revised depth of about 17 miles, the American agency said. The Japanese
Meteorological Agency said the quake had a magnitude of 8.8. News reports said
it ranked among the biggest in a century.
(Watch: Fire at oil refinery, Tsunami strikes airport)
Tsunami waves
swept away houses and cars in northern Japan and pushed ships aground. Trains
were shut down across central and northern Japan, including Tokyo, and air
travel was severely disrupted. The government held an emergency session to
coordinate response as the death toll rose to 23 in five prefectures, officials
said. At least 30 people were injured in the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. (Watch
- Japan: The day the earth shook)
The quake occurred at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time and hit off
Honshu, Japan's most populous island. The quake was so powerful that buildings
in central Tokyo, designed to withstand major earthquakes, swayed.
"This
tremor was unlike any I've experienced previously, and I've lived here for eight
years. It was a sustained rolling that made it impossible to stand, almost like
vertigo," said Matt Alt, an American writer and translator living in
Tokyo.
Television images showed waves of more than 12 feet roaring
inland. The tsunami drew a line of white fury across the ocean, heading toward
the shoreline. Cars and trucks were still moving on highways as the water rushed
toward them.
(Watch: Biggest quake in 140 yrs)
The floodwaters, thick with
floating debris shoved inland, pushed aside heavy trucks as if they were toys,
in some places carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields, highways,
bridges and homes. The spectacle was all the more remarkable for being carried
live on television, even as the waves engulfed flat farmland that offered no
resistance.
The force of the waves washed away cars on coastal roads and
crashed into buildings along the shore. Television footage showed a tsunami wave
bearing down on the Japanese coastline near the community of Sendai.
NHK
television transmitted aerial images of columns of flame
rising from an oil refinery and flood waters engulfing Sendai airport, where
survivors clustered on the roof of the airport building. The runway was
partially submerged. The refinery fire sent a plume of thick black smoke from
blazing spherical storage tanks. A television commentator called the blaze an
"inferno."
The images showed survivors in a home surrounded by water,
waving white sheets from the upper floors of buildings. News reports said the
earthquake had forced the Tokyo subways to empty while airports were closed and
many residents took to the streets, desperately trying to leave the
city.
Initial television coverage from coastal areas showed very few
people actually in the water. The initial impact of the wave seemed to have been
enormous, tipping two huge cargo vessels on their sides at one port and tearing
others from their moorings.
Smaller vessels, including what looked like
commercial fishing trawlers, were carried inland, smashing into the
superstructure of bridges as the waters surged. A senior Japanese official said
foreign countries had offered to help and Japan was prepared to seek overseas
assistance.
A second major earthquake of 7.4 magnitude was reported as
aftershocks shook the region. Japanese media reported mobile phone networks were
not working.
Power blackouts were affecting about 2 million residents
around Tokyo alone, the government said. Cell phone service was severely
affected across central and northern Japan as residents rushed to call friends
and relatives as aftershocks struck.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
extended a tsunami warning across most of the Pacific Ocean, and said the
tsunami would threaten coastal areas of Russia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Indonesia, the
Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Australia later in the day. The agency,
based in Hawaii, added the west coasts of the United States, Mexico, Central
America and South America to the list of countries that given tsunami alerts. (Read:
Tsunami warning for 19 countries)
Russia's Emergency Situations
Ministry said that the tsunami had reached the Russian-controlled Kurile Islands
north of Hokkaido, Japan at about 6 p.m. local time. "The tsunami has reached
three population centers in the Kurile Island chain. The average height of the
wave has been recorded at less than one meter. There have been no casualties or
damage," the ministry said in a statement. In response to the tsunami threat,
about 11,000 people have been evacuated from four population centers in the
Kuriles, the ministry said.
Japanese television showed major tsunami
damage in northern Japan. Public broadcaster NHK reported that a large ship
swept away by the tsunami rammed directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in
Miyagi prefecture. Video footage also showed buildings on fire in the Odaiba
district of Tokyo, The Associated Press reported.
"It just seemed to go
on and on," Katherine Wallace told the BBC, who was in an office building in
Tokyo, said of the quake tremor.
Several quakes have struck the same
region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on
Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, was briefed on the disaster
during a trip to Brussels. Geoffrey Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said
there were no reports of damage to American military facilities or naval
vessels.
At the headquarters of the Navy's Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka,
Japan, sailors were preparing for a potential tsunami. "We've issued
instructions to our pierside ships in Yokosuka to stand by their lines to be
prepared to quickly adjust them as necessary to prevent damage during any
resulting tsunami," said Cmdr. Jeff Davis, the Seventh Fleet
spokesman.
It was unclear on Friday morning to what extent the American
military in the Pacific was preparing to help with disaster response.
The
Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and the Straits Times in Singapore slumped after
news of the quake, ending about 1.6 percent and 1 percent down, respectively.(Watch:
Financial markets hit by Japan quake)
Friday, setting off a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland
along the northern part of the country and threatened coastal areas throughout
the Pacific.
(In Pics: Japan earthquake triggers tsunami)
Walls of water swept
away houses and cars in northern Japan and pushed ships aground. Trains were
shut down across central and northern Japan, including Tokyo, and air travel was
severely disrupted. A ship carrying more than 100 people was swept away by the
tsunami, Kyodo News reported.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disaster
caused major damage across wide areas. Associated
Press reports Japanese police say 200 to 300 bodies have been found in a
northeastern coastal area. (Japan
PM: Quake caused major damage)
The United States Geological Survey
said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9, which the agency labeled a "mega"
quake. The tremor occurred at about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo and at a
revised depth of about 17 miles, the American agency said. The Japanese
Meteorological Agency said the quake had a magnitude of 8.8. News reports said
it ranked among the biggest in a century.
(Watch: Fire at oil refinery, Tsunami strikes airport)
Tsunami waves
swept away houses and cars in northern Japan and pushed ships aground. Trains
were shut down across central and northern Japan, including Tokyo, and air
travel was severely disrupted. The government held an emergency session to
coordinate response as the death toll rose to 23 in five prefectures, officials
said. At least 30 people were injured in the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. (Watch
- Japan: The day the earth shook)
The quake occurred at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time and hit off Honshu, Japan's most populous island. The quake was so powerful that buildings
in central Tokyo, designed to withstand major earthquakes, swayed.
"This
tremor was unlike any I've experienced previously, and I've lived here for eight
years. It was a sustained rolling that made it impossible to stand, almost like
vertigo," said Matt Alt, an American writer and translator living in
Tokyo.
Television images showed waves of more than 12 feet roaring
inland. The tsunami drew a line of white fury across the ocean, heading toward
the shoreline. Cars and trucks were still moving on highways as the water rushed
toward them.
(Watch: Biggest quake in 140 yrs)
The floodwaters, thick with
floating debris shoved inland, pushed aside heavy trucks as if they were toys,
in some places carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields, highways,
bridges and homes. The spectacle was all the more remarkable for being carried
live on television, even as the waves engulfed flat farmland that offered no
resistance.
The force of the waves washed away cars on coastal roads and
crashed into buildings along the shore. Television footage showed a tsunami wave
bearing down on the Japanese coastline near the community of Sendai.
NHK
television transmitted aerial images of columns of flame
rising from an oil refinery and flood waters engulfing Sendai airport, where
survivors clustered on the roof of the airport building. The runway was
partially submerged. The refinery fire sent a plume of thick black smoke from
blazing spherical storage tanks. A television commentator called the blaze an
"inferno."
The images showed survivors in a home surrounded by water,
waving white sheets from the upper floors of buildings. News reports said the
earthquake had forced the Tokyo subways to empty while airports were closed and
many residents took to the streets, desperately trying to leave the
city.
Initial television coverage from coastal areas showed very few
people actually in the water. The initial impact of the wave seemed to have been
enormous, tipping two huge cargo vessels on their sides at one port and tearing
others from their moorings.
Smaller vessels, including what looked like
commercial fishing trawlers, were carried inland, smashing into the
superstructure of bridges as the waters surged. A senior Japanese official said
foreign countries had offered to help and Japan was prepared to seek overseas
assistance.
A second major earthquake of 7.4 magnitude was reported as
aftershocks shook the region. Japanese media reported mobile phone networks were
not working.
Power blackouts were affecting about 2 million residents
around Tokyo alone, the government said. Cell phone service was severely
affected across central and northern Japan as residents rushed to call friends
and relatives as aftershocks struck.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
extended a tsunami warning across most of the Pacific Ocean, and said the
tsunami would threaten coastal areas of Russia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Indonesia, the
Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Australia later in the day. The agency,
based in Hawaii, added the west coasts of the United States, Mexico, Central
America and South America to the list of countries that given tsunami alerts. (Read:
Tsunami warning for 19 countries)
Russia's Emergency Situations
Ministry said that the tsunami had reached the Russian-controlled Kurile Islands
north of Hokkaido, Japan at about 6 p.m. local time. "The tsunami has reached
three population centers in the Kurile Island chain. The average height of the
wave has been recorded at less than one meter. There have been no casualties or
damage," the ministry said in a statement. In response to the tsunami threat,
about 11,000 people have been evacuated from four population centers in the
Kuriles, the ministry said.
Japanese television showed major tsunami
damage in northern Japan. Public broadcaster NHK reported that a large ship
swept away by the tsunami rammed directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in
Miyagi prefecture. Video footage also showed buildings on fire in the Odaiba
district of Tokyo, The Associated Press reported.
"It just seemed to go
on and on," Katherine Wallace told the BBC, who was in an office building in
Tokyo, said of the quake tremor.
Several quakes have struck the same
region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on
Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, was briefed on the disaster
during a trip to Brussels. Geoffrey Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said
there were no reports of damage to American military facilities or naval
vessels.
At the headquarters of the Navy's Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka,
Japan, sailors were preparing for a potential tsunami. "We've issued
instructions to our pierside ships in Yokosuka to stand by their lines to be
prepared to quickly adjust them as necessary to prevent damage during any
resulting tsunami," said Cmdr. Jeff Davis, the Seventh Fleet
spokesman.
It was unclear on Friday morning to what extent the American
military in the Pacific was preparing to help with disaster response.
The
Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and the Straits Times in Singapore slumped after
news of the quake, ending about 1.6 percent and 1 percent down, respectively.(Watch:
Financial markets hit by Japan quake)
Copy by NDTV
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