Huge tsunami wave sweeps Quake across Japan

http://timesofearth.com/Worldnews/?NT=0&nid=34426 A devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan killed at least 1,000 people along the northeastern coast on Friday after a wall of water swept away everything in its path.

Thousands of residents were evacuated from an area around a nuclear plant north of Tokyo after fears of a radiation leak, but officials said problems with the reactor's cooling system were not at a critical level.

Underscoring grave concerns about the plant, the U.S. air force delivered coolant to the facility, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

The unfolding disaster in the wake of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 10-meter (33-feet) high tsunami prompted offers of help from dozens of countries.

Up to 300 bodies were earlier found in the coastal city of Sendai, media said. NHK television said the victims appeared to have drowned. The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.

Tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific but were later lifted for some of the most populated countries in the region, including Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand.

Other Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and one refinery was ablaze. Television footage also showed an intense fire in the waterfront area near Sendai, the city hardest hit by the quake.

A major explosion hit a petrochemical complex in Miyagi prefecture after the quake, Kyodo said.

Political leaders pushed for an emergency budget to help fund relief efforts after Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked them to "save the country", Kyodo news agency reported.

Stunning TV footage showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, home to one million people and which lies 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbor wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side.

The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo news agency said.

A ship carrying 100 people had been swept away by the tsunami, Kyodo said. One train was derailed and another unaccounted for.

In Tokyo, residents who had earlier fled swaying buildings jammed the streets trying to make their way home after much of the city's public transportation was halted.

Electronics giant Sony Corp , one of the country's biggest exporters, shut six factories, as air force jets raced to the northeast coast to determine the extent of the damage.

The Bank of Japan, which has been struggling to boost the anaemic economy, said it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability as the yen and Japanese shares fell.

"I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Then the tsunamis came when we tried to run for cover. It was the strongest quake I experienced," a woman with a baby on her back told television.

The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for countries to the west and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.

There were several strong aftershocks. In Tokyo, there was widespread panic. An oil refinery near the city was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.

Around 4.4 million homes were without power in northern Japan, media said.

"People are flooding the streets. It's incredible. Everyone is trying to get home but I didn't see any taxis," said Koji Goto, a 43-year-old Tokyo resident.

NHK television 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 showed residents of the city running out of shaking buildings, shielding their heads with their hands from falling masonry.

TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed and cars were turning around and speeding away.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Tsunami
• Japan
• earthquake

[Richele1528]

After I saw the breaking news,I saw some information at school and I remembered that I saw a picture of some sort of building exploded. I think it's a place where has nuclear energy or something........ And then my mom said it was not safe to go to Japan because of the radiation after the earthquake and tsunami,but now it's safe and the country is already renovated. Hey! I have also heard that Tokyo Disneyland was ruined because of this too!

[Richele1528]

I heard about this @ home. The wave was 10 meters deep! After 1 month later,I saw some sad videos of the Earth because of global warming after this and I was like so scared.

[tomanyasses]

i saw some one surf the whole wave all the way to hawaii

[tomanyasses]

@ch1aka2 have you pulled your head out of your ass i think not

[PhantasticPhotog]

@muntaz2 Insane. You are not watching a video game. This is real.

[PhantasticPhotog]

@HARDSTYLESOLDIER2010 Somewhere in there...

[PhantasticPhotog]

@dennislai18 No. Act of God.

[PhantasticPhotog]

@joelchiquito92 9.1

[DizzleGalore]

youtube.com/watch?v=3NAMGfDiIQ­w

Great flood footage, Check it out..

[littleac8]

see the white car at the bottom left at 1:00? Get outta there brother!! Hope they're ok.