Tsunami-hit Japan - At least 427 are being killed - Confirmed but likely to rise over 1000 !

Twin disasters overwhelm Japan - Video - All Jazeera


At least 427 are confirmed to have been killed after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a devastating 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline and triggered an emergency at two nuclear power plants as well.


Japanese media said on Saturday the death toll was expected to exceed 1000, most of whom appeared to have drowned by churning waters.


"The damage is so enormous that it will take us much time to gather data," a Japanese official at the national police agency said.


The towering wall of water, generated by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake, pulverised the northeastern city of Sendai, where police on Friday reportedly said that 200-300 bodies had been found on the coast. 


The wave of black water sent shipping containers, cars and debris crashing through the streets of Sendai and across open farmland, while a tidal wave of debris-littered mud destroyed everything in its path.


The northeastern Japanese city of Kesennuma, with a population of 74,000, was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water, according to Jiji news agency .


Radiation fears - Reactor cooling systems had failed !
- but no immediate health hazard -




Japanese authorities scrambled on Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where Japanese authorities scrambled on Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed, as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.


Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".


The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres  northeast of greater Tokyo.


A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the fewer than 6,000 people within three kilometres told to leave Friday.


Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.


When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do -- but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.


When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.


This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release.Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes in one of the world's most quake-prone countries, though a fire broke out in the turbine building of another nuclear plant in Onagawa., as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.


Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".


The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres  northeast of greater Tokyo.


A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the fewer than 6,000 people within three kilometres told to leave Friday.


Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.


When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do -- but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.


When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.


This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release.Japan's network of advanced nuclear power plants are designed to shut down as soon as the earth shakes in one of the world's most quake-prone countries, though a fire broke out in the turbine building of another nuclear plant in Onagawa.

26 people have died UP TO NOW from the MASSIVE tsunami in Japan !

Up to 26 people are reported to have been killed after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan, triggering a 10-metre-high tsunami along parts of the country's northeastern coastline.


The massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Friday, sweeping away cars, boats, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control.Japan's NHK television reported many injuries and showed pictures of major tsunami damage in the north, with buildings being inundated by waves of water in Onahama city in Fukushima prefecture.



Japan's meteorological agency said 26 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami, and 44 fires have broken out across the country.


The death toll included three people who were reportedly crushed to death when their houses collapsed in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of the capital, Tokyo.News of the death toll came amid a warning that another strong quake could be imminent on the northeast Honshu island, Japan's main island.


Japan's prime minister addressed the nation after the quake, saying major damage had been done but that help is on the way.

Will earthquake triggered Japanese tsunami will affect Sri lanka

Will earthquake triggered Japanease tsunami will affect Sri lanka ?

Sri Lankan Meteorological Department stated that Sri Lanka is under no threat with regard to the tsunami warnings.

CNN Video of the tsunami that struck Japanese Coastline !

CNN Video of the massive earthquake followed by tsunami in Japan


(please wait some time until the video gets loaded, due to high bandwidth usage, it will take some time to load)





Buildings on fire dot a vast wall of mud littered with boats and debris moving fast across farmland in northern Japan. Houses, cars and a train can be seen in the path of the tsunami. 


Location of the earthquake

source ; CNN

Massive 8.9 quake, tsunamis hits Coastal Region of Japan !

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.


The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.


The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.


Tsunami warnings issued for other countries


In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.


Scenes inside office buildings showed papers strewn all over the floor and people clinging onto seats and desks.


Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.


It caused a power outage in about 4 million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.
A tsunami in the Pacific was moving closer to other shorelines in other countries, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.


It triggered tsunami warnings for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.


"Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region," it said.


"Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter."


The quake was the latest in a series in the region this week.


Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the coast of Honshu.


A day earlier, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said.


The largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said.


- Japan Tsunami Earthquake Videos - 

Strong earthquake hits Japan ! - 7.2 magnitude and No casualties So far !

A major 7.2-magnitude quake has hit Japan, swaying buildings in Tokyo and triggering a tsunami warning, but causing no reported casualties or damage.


The quake struck late on Wednesday morning, about 10km below the Pacific seafloor. The epicentre was about 160km offshore and 430km northeast of Tokyo.


The Japan meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the east coast of the main Honshu island, where a 24-inch wave was first reported at Ofunato port half an hour after the quake.


Police said they had received no reports of casualties from the quake, or from a 5.6-magnitude aftershock that struck nearby about 12 minutes later.


Tokyo Electric and Tohoku Electric, nuclear power operators, confirmed that the quake did not damage their atomic plants and prefectures in Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima."


"First I felt a jolt that pushed from underneath, then a big sideways tremor that lasted for about 20 seconds," Yoshiyuki Sato, an official at Kurihara City in Miyagi prefecture, about 300km northeast of Tokyo, told the Reuters news agency.


Some Shinkansen bullet trains in the region automatically stopped when the  quake hit but then resumed their services, railway operators said.


Local residents in the rural seaside areas where the quake was felt most strongly reported no immediate damage from the quake.


"It continued for about 30 seconds, but I don't see anything that looks different," Yoshio Hoshi, a retired fisherman in Miyagi prefecture, said.


Japan lies on the 'Ring of Fire'- an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 per cent of theworld's quakes occur.


source ; aljazeera