Japan Tsunami Earthquake 8.9 live footage

Japan Tsunami Earthquake 8.9 live footage Videos Taken From Different Sources

Major tsunami damage in Japan

A powerful tsunami spawned by the largest earthquake in Japan's history slammed the eastern coast on Friday, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. A local news report said at least 19 people were killed.
The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake was followed by at least 19 aftershocks, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0. Dozens of cities and villages along the 2,100km stretch of the country's eastern shore were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre in the sea off the northeastern coast.
A tsunami warning was issued for dozens of Pacific countries, as far away as Chile.
'The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan,' Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.
Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions.
Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water.
Waves of muddy waters swept over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some on fire, inland as cars attempted to drive away. Sendai airport, north of Tokyo, was inundated with cars, trucks, buses and thick mud deposited over its runways. Fires spread through a section of the city, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The tsunami roared over embankments, washing cars, houses and farm equipment inland before reversing directions and carrying them out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas pipes.
'Our initial assessment indicate that there has already been enormous damage,' Chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said. 'We will make maximum relief effort based on that assessment.'
He said the Defence Ministry was sending troops to the quake-hit region. A utility aircraft and several helicopters were on the way.

A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and was burning out of control with 30 metre-high flames whipping into the sky.
NHK showed footage of a large ship being swept away and ramming directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture.
The US Geological Survey said the 2.46pm quake was a magnitude 8.9, the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s, according to NHK.
A tsunami warning was extended to a number of Pacific, South-east Asian and Latin American nations, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities said they expect a 1-metre high tsunami.
The quake struck at a depth of 10km, about 125km off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 380km northeast of Tokyo.
In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. The tremor bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 333-metre steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Several nuclear plants along the coast were partially shut down, but there were no reports of any radioactive leakage.

In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.
A large numbers of people waited at Tokyo's Shinjuku station, the world's busiest train station, for service to resume so they could go home. TV announcers urged workers not to leave their offices to prevent injuries in case of more strong aftershocks.
Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit.
It sent bookshelves and computers crashing to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls.
'I've been through many earthquakes but I've never felt anything like this,' he said. 'I don't know if we'll be able to get home tonight.'
Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo completely smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being comforted by another woman.
Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes after the main quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard set up a task force and officials were standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.
'I'm afraid we'll soon find out about damages, since the quake was so strong,' he said.
Tokyo's main airport was closed. A large section of the ceiling at the 1-year-old airport at Ibaraki, about 80km northeast of Tokyo, fell to the floor with a powerful crash.
Dozens of fires were reported in northern prefectures of Fukushima, Sendai, Iwate and Ibaraki. Collapsed homes and landslides were also reported in Miyagi.

Japan's worst previous quake was in 1923 in Canto, an 8.3-magnitude temblor that killed 143,000 people, according to USGS. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe city in 1996 killed 6,400 people.
Japan lies on the 'Ring of Fire' - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 per cent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile last February also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.

Tsunami, quake havoc in northern Japan

Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a four metre tsunami that washed away cars and tore away buildings along the coast near the epicentre. There were reports of injuries in Tokyo.
In various locations along Japan's coast, TV footage showed massive damage from the tsunami, with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by waters. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, according to footage on public broadcaster NHK.
Officials were trying to assess damage, injuries and deaths from the quake but had no immediate details.
The quake that struck at 2:46 pm was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude one about 30 minutes later. The US Geological Survey upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 7.9.
The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan. NHK was warning those near the coast to get to safer ground.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
The quake struck at a depth of 10km about 125km off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 380km northeast of Tokyo.
In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. A huge fire has also engulfed an oil refinery in lichihara near Tokyo.
In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms.
The ceiling in Kudan Kaikan, a large hall in Tokyo, collapsed, injuring an unknown number of people, NHK said.

Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo completely smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being comforted by another woman.
Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes after the quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard has set up task force and officials are standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.
'I'm afraid we'll soon find out about damages, since the quake was so strong,' he said.

NZ quake: damage assessment starts in Christchurch

The Earthquake Commission in New Zealand is beginning a series of quick damage assessments to 180,000 homes following the Christchurch earthquake.

Each home will be visited by qualified builders for 15-30 minutes each in a process expected to take eight weeks.
Separately, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has quashed speculation that the plans to host World Cup rugby matches in the city were at risk.
Identification of more than 166 dead from the 22 February quake continues.
The Commission's chief executive Ian Simpson said that 540 estimators would carry out the assessments.
Homes across the city, including in Lyttelton, will be divided into categories of damage - those that require urgent action to make them weather-tight and habitable, and those with severe structural damage that may need to be rebuilt.
The quick damage assessment plan has been put forward by officials in an effort to give more certainty to home dwellers.
The assessments will provide for urgent repairs to be made, and for the claims process for financial support to begin.
Guide dog appeal Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee said up to 300,000 earthquake claims were expected.
Mr Key has said 10,000 homes in Christchurch cannot be rebuilt.
In response to an English rugby writer Peter Bills, who suggested that even if AMI Stadium can be repaired, the city is too unsafe, Mr Key said:
"I think he should stick to writing rugby columns and avoid becoming a seismologist."
New Zealand will host the 2011 Rugby World Cup starting on 9 September, at stadiums around the country including Christchurch.

Thousands of Christchurch residents have left the city, but Mr Key insisted he felt comfortable there.
Following the success of an auction of a rock which crushed a Lyttelton home in the quake, a date with the All Blacks rugby team captain Richie McCaw or former supermodel Rachel Hunter is being auctioned online.
This appeal is to raise money for the retraining of an estimated 40 guide dogs for the blind in Christchurch, who must now learn new routes through the rubble.
A national memorial day, 18 March, will feature events planned in Christchurch's Hagley Park. Britain's Prince William will also tour devastated areas.
Quake recovery is expected to cost the country at least NZ$15bn ($11bn; £7bn).

Massive Earth Quake In Japan 11March 2011

BBC News: Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake
A massive earthquake has hit the northeast of Japan triggering a tsunami that has caused extensive damage.

Japan's TV showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away the Fukushima prefecture, after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

Officials said a wave as high as 6m (20ft) could strike the coast.

The quake struck about 250 miles (400km) from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles, shaking building in the capital for several minutes.

The tremor at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.

Tsunami hits north-eastern Japan after massive quake

A massive earthquake has hit the north-east of Japan, triggering a tsunami that has caused extensive damage.

Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake.
The quake has sparked fires in several areas including Tokyo, and numerous casualties are feared.
It struck about 250 miles (400km) from the capital at a depth of 20 miles. There have been powerful aftershocks.
The tremor hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT). Seismologists say it is one of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan for many years.

The tsunami warning was extended to the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Pacific coast of Russia and Hawaii.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the wave could extend as far as Chile.
Tsunami waves hit Japan's Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, officials said, damaging dozens of coastal communities.
Japan's NHK television showed a massive surge of debris-filled water sweeping away buildings, cars and ships and reaching far inland.
Motorists could be seen trying to speed away from the wall of water.
Farmland around the coastal city of Sendai was submerged and the waves pushed cars across the runway of the city's airport.
'Seasick'

The earthquake also triggered a number of fires, including one at an oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, engulfing storage tanks.
There were reports of about 20 people injured in Tokyo after the roof of a hall collapsed on to a graduation ceremony.
Residents and workers in Tokyo rushed out of apartment buildings and office blocks and gathered in parks and open spaces as aftershocks continued to hit.
Many people in Tokyo said they had never felt such a powerful earthquake.

In central Tokyo, Jeffrey Balanag said he was stuck in his office in the Shiodome Sumitomo building because the elevators had stopped working.
"There's no panic but we're almost seasick from the constant rolling of the building," he told the BBC.
Bullet train services to northern Japan were halted, rapid transit in Tokyo was suspended and some nuclear power plants automatically shut down.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said there had been no radiation leaks.
In a televised address, he extended his sympathy to the victims of the disaster and said an emergency response headquarters had been set up.
He said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.4 while the US Geological Survey said it measured 8.9.

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