A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a four-meter (13-ft) tsunami along parts of the country's coastline, NHK television and witnesses reported.
There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a 10-meter tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.
TV pictures showed a vast wall of water carrying buildings and debris across a large swathe of coastal farmland.
Public broadcaster 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.
Black 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 the city of Sendai in the northeast.
"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."
Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.
Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.
Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.
Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!," "Are they going to fall?"
Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.
"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."
Officials said there could be a 10m (33ft) wave, with numerous casualties feared.
The quake struck about 250 miles (400km) from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles, shaking the capital.
The tremor at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.
Seismologists say it is one of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan for many years.
The tsunami warning was extended to the Philippines, Indonesia and the Pacific coast of Russia.
Tsunami waves hit Japan's Miyagi and ***ushima prefectures, officials said.
Japan's NHK television showed a massive surge of water sweeping away buildings, cars and ships.
The earthquake also triggered a number of fires.
There were also reports of injuries in Tokyo.
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There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a 10-meter tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.
TV pictures showed a vast wall of water carrying buildings and debris across a large swathe of coastal farmland.
Public broadcaster 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.
Black 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 the city of Sendai in the northeast.
"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."
Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.
Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.
Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.
Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!," "Are they going to fall?"
Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.
"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."
TV pictures showed a vast wall of water carrying buildings and debris across a large swathe of coastal farmland.
Public broadcaster 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.
Black 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 the city of Sendai in the northeast.
"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."
Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.
Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.
Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.
Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!," "Are they going to fall?"
Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.
"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."
The meteorological agency issued its top-level evacuation alerts for the entire Japanese coast, warning of a tsunami of up to six metres.
Towns and farms around Sendai city in northern Japan are being engulfed by a tsunami, and a four-metre wave has swamped parts of Kamaishi on the Pacific coast.
Residents have been ordered to rush to high ground and stay away from the coast as tsunami can strike in several waves.
Japanese television is broadcasting pictures of a wall of water kilometres wide moving its way across the countryside, engulfing everything in its path.
More waves can be seen approaching the coast.
"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the agency said.
It also put the territories of Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia and Hawaii under a lower tsunami watch.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre says there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
The quake, already considered one of the worst in Japan's history, struck about 382 kilometres north-east of Tokyo at a depth of 24 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
Smoke could be seen rising from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and scores of cars are floating in Iwate prefecture harbour in northern Japan.
A major fire has also broken out at an oil refinery in Chiba prefecture.
Police in Miyagi prefecture have reported numerous injuries. A woman reportedly died in a building collapse.
Shinkansen bullet trains stopped when the quake struck, while the nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture stopped operating.
Power has been cut to four million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.
Many people were injured after a roof collapsed at a hall in Tokyo where a graduation ceremony for 600 students was being held, the fire department said.
Narita airport has temporarily closed and the runways are being inspected for damage.
The quake was felt as far away as the Chinese capital of Beijing, 2,500 kilometres to the west, residents said.
The government has set up a crisis management team at the prime minister's office.
Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday.
In 1933 a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Tags: disasters-and-accidents, earthquake, japan
First posted 1 hour 39 minutes ago
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Towns and farms around Sendai city in northern Japan are being engulfed by a tsunami, and a four-metre wave has swamped parts of Kamaishi on the Pacific coast.
Residents have been ordered to rush to high ground and stay away from the coast as tsunami can strike in several waves.
Japanese television is broadcasting pictures of a wall of water kilometres wide moving its way across the countryside, engulfing everything in its path.
More waves can be seen approaching the coast.
"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the agency said.
It also put the territories of Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia and Hawaii under a lower tsunami watch.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre says there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
The quake, already considered one of the worst in Japan's history, struck about 382 kilometres north-east of Tokyo at a depth of 24 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
Smoke could be seen rising from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and scores of cars are floating in Iwate prefecture harbour in northern Japan.
A major fire has also broken out at an oil refinery in Chiba prefecture.
Police in Miyagi prefecture have reported numerous injuries. A woman reportedly died in a building collapse.
Shinkansen bullet trains stopped when the quake struck, while the nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture stopped operating.
Power has been cut to four million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.
Many people were injured after a roof collapsed at a hall in Tokyo where a graduation ceremony for 600 students was being held, the fire department said.
Narita airport has temporarily closed and the runways are being inspected for damage.
The quake was felt as far away as the Chinese capital of Beijing, 2,500 kilometres to the west, residents said.
The government has set up a crisis management team at the prime minister's office.
Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday.
In 1933 a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
Tags: disasters-and-accidents, earthquake, japan
First posted 1 hour 39 minutes ago
Search ABC News
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