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Tsunami Japan
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit Japan Friday, unleashing a 10-metre high tsunami that tossed ships inland and sparked fears that destructive waves could hit across the Pacific Ocean.
The devastating 8.9-magnitude quake left many people injured in coastal areas of the main Honshu island and Tokyo, police said, while TV footage showed widespread flooding in the area.
A monster 10-metre (33 feet) wall of water was reported in Sendai city in northeastern Miyagi prefecture, media said after a four-metre wave hit the coast earlier. The government said the quake had caused "tremendous damage".
Helicopter footage showed massive inundation in northern coastal towns, where floods of black water sent shipping containers, cars and debris crashing through streets. An oil refinery was ablaze near Tokyo.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a widespread warning for territories as far away as South America, New Zealand and Hawaii, where evacuations were ordered.
Japan Tsunami
Black smoke rises from a burning building in Tokyo's Odaiba area in Tokyo Bay area after Japan was struck by a magnitude-8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.
Huge tsunami slams Japan after quake
The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire.
Japan Tsunami
In this image made off Japan's NHK TV video footage, vehicles are washed away by tsunami in coastal area in eastern Japan after Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.
At least six people were killed, five in Fukushima prefecture north of the capital, Tokyo, where four million homes were without power, and one in eastern Tochigi prefecture, media said. A hotel collapsed in the city of Sendai and people were feared buried in the rubble.
The 8.9 magnitude quake caused many injuries, public broadcaster NHK said, sparked fires and the wall of water, prompting warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas.
The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued alerts for countries to the west and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru.
There were several strong aftershocks. In Tokyo, buildings shook violently. An oil refinery near the city was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.
Japan Earthquake
Black smoke rises from a burning building in Tokyo after Japan was struck by a magnitude-8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.
"I was terrified and I'm still frightened," said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo's Akasaka area. "I've never experienced such a big quake before."
Stunning TV footage showed the tsunami carrying the debris and fires across a large swathe of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. The pictures suggested the death toll was going to rise.
Sendai is 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo and the epicentre at sea was not far away.
NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.
Thick smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.
Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport.
The western prefecture of Wakayama ordered 20,000 people to evacuate after further tsunami warnings.
Japan Tsunami
In this image made off Japan's NHK TV video footage, houses are washed away by tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (state) eastern Japan, after Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.
Japan Quake
Ambulances gather outside the Kudan Kaikan hall where the ceiling of a school collapsed in the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo on March 11, 2011. The The huge earthquake shook Japan, unleashing a powerful tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns.
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
The area is flooded by tsunami in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture (state) as Japan was struck by a magnitude-8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011.
Sendai Earthquake
Broken China wares are scattered on the floor at a porcelain shop following a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo on March 11, 2011. The huge earthquake shook Japan, unleashing a powerful tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns.
Earthquake 2011
©AFP/JIJI Press / Jiji Press
Vehicles are crushed by a collapsed wall at a carpark in Mito city in Ibaraki prefecture after a massive earthquake rocked Japan. A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake has rocked Japan, unleashing a monster 10-metre high tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns.
Earthquake Japan
Japan Earthquake 2011
Japan Earthquake 2011 Pictures
Japan ablaze after quake; no radiation leaks
The Cosmo oil refinery in Chiba prefecture outside Tokyo has exploded, sending flames dozens of metres into the air with firefighters unable to contain the inferno.
There are reports of more than 40 major fires across Japan following the 8.9-magnitude offshore quake.
Five nuclear power plants and several oil refineries shut down automatically after the quake.
Officials say no radiation leaks have been reported.
Hokuriku Electric Co said all three reactors at its Onagawa nuclear plant in northern Japan were shut down, while JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp, Japan's top refiner, halted operations at three refineries in Sendai, Kashima and Negishi.
Electric Power Development also halted operations of its Isogo thermal power plant in Yokohama, and electronics giant Sony Corp, one of the country's biggest exporters, shut six factories.
The Miyagi prefecture and surrounding areas include major manufacturing and industrial zones, with many chemical, petrochemical and electronics plants.
Television showed black smoke pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area.
A fire was also reported at JFE Holdings Incorporated's steel plant in Chiba. JFE is the world's fifth-largest steelmaker.
Two people were reported killed by a collapsing ceiling at a Honda factory in Tochigi prefecture but no other details were immediately available.
Several airports, including Tokyo's Narita, were closed and rail services were halted.
The car park at Tokyo Disneyland was drenched with water-logged segments from the ground following the quake.
It was earlier reported that a tsunami might have caused the inundation but police said the phenomenon was due to liquefaction of soil caused by the intense shaking of the tremor.
There were 69,000 people at Disneyland and the adjacent Tokyo Disney Sea, but there were no injuries or property damage reported.
- AFP/Reuters
Japan Earthquake Pictures
Tsunami Japan
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Tokyo Earthquake 2011
The USGS said the quake struck at 5:31 a.m. on Saturday (2031 GMT on Friday) 52 miles (84 km) east of the city of Naha, about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo.
Japan Tsunami 2011
