2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami | tsunami warning for 50 countries | tsunami warning for New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Guam, Philippines,taiwan

The 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami was an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resultant tsunami waves.The Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning listed the magnitude as 8.8.It was located off the east coast of Tohoku, Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 05:46:23 UTC at a depth of 32 km (20 miles).

The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning for Japan's Pacific coast and various other countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Guam, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Hawaii, Northern Marianas (USA) and Taiwan.

The tsunami warning issued by Japan was the most serious on its warning scale, implying that the wave was expected to be 10 meters high.A 0.5 meter high wave hit Japan's northern coast.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan believed that there had been no radiation leaks to the best of his knowledge and in a televised address, he extended his sympathy to the victims of the disaster and said an emergency response headquarters had been set up.

Kyodo news agency has reported a four-metre-high tsunami hitting Iwate Prefecture in Japan. A 10-meter tsunami was observed at Sendai airport in Miyagi prefecture, which has been flooded, with waves sweeping along cars and buildings as they traveled inland.

At 9:28 p.m (HST) the National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning until 7 a.m. for all of Hawaii.Tsunami waves are expected to arrive in Hawaii at 2:59 am local time.

Bullet train services to northern Japan were halted, rapid transit services in Tokyo were suspended and some nuclear power plants automatically shut themselves down.

Television images have already shown significant tsunami damage in Japan, inundating farmland, structures, and automobiles along the Japanese coast.

News footage shot from from the air captured vehicles fleeing ahead of massive sheets of water that carried burning structures along on the surface. The tsunami overtook homes and roads, showing little sign of ebbing.

Related Posts