Japan hit by 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami

JAPAN (NEWS1130) – Updated 11:00 p.m.: Japan’s nuclear safety commission says that a meltdown at nuclear power plant affected by the country’s massive earthquake is possible. Crews were checking whether a meltdown had taken place at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, which had lost cooling ability in the aftermath of Friday’s powerful earthquake.

The commission says even if there was a meltdown, it wouldn’t affect people within a 10-kilometre radius.

The largest earthquake in the country’s history has hit Japan and people on the ground are trying to assess the damage.

It is the fifth strongest earthquake ever world-wide, and the strongest Japan has ever recorded in its history. Experts say the quake was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that struck New Zealand late last month.

It’s hard to say how many people have died as a result of the 8.9 magnitude quake, but in Sendai on the northeast coast, as many as 300 bodies have washed up there alone.

It was the waves from the ensuing tsunami that brought much of the destruction to Japan. The powerful rush of water measuring seven metres high swept away everything in its path, including people.

As many as 300 bodies have been discovered in Sendai on the northeastern coast alone. And it’s transportation chaos in Tokyo.

Narita airport is closed indefinitely. Fires are burning out of control, tens of thousands of people are missing, and thousands living near a nuclear power plant have been told to get out because the plant’s cooling system failed. No radiation leaks have been detected.

An entire train with an unknown number of passengers is missing. There are no reports of Canadians injured. 

 

Canada’s prime minister has offered his condolences to the Japanese people. Stephen Harper says Canada is ready to help. The same goes for the BC government; in a statement, incoming premier Christy Clark says Public Safety Minister Rich Coleman has been in touch with Ottawa.

 

Meanwhile, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the city’s Urban Search and Rescue Team is ready to deploy if the federal government asks. Robertson says Vancouver has close ties with Japan since Yokohama has been our sister city for almost half a century.


A tsunami advisory is over for the west coast of North America. 

 

A tsunami advisory is over for the North Coast, Vancouver Island from Cape Scott to Port Refrew, and for Haida Gwaii.

There are reports waves rose by about one metre in some parts.

For people in affected areas, like Deb in Port Alberni, these kind of warnings are nothing new.

“We’ve had so many false alarms, like the Sri Lanka one, we were supposed to get a big one, and everyone was heading for dry land and packing up things that were important to them,” she tells us. “But nothing comes, so we don’t get too excited about it.”


More vivid photos can be found here, courtesy The Atlantic and here, courtesy The Big Picture.
Click here for more images courtesy KOMO News.

Local Japanese broadcaster NHK showed pictures of cars, trucks, houses and buildings being swept away by the tsunami in Onahama city. Ten-metre waves hit Sendai Airport in north eastern Japan. Buildings on fire are even being pushed by the rushing waters.

Watch the tsunami hit Japan:

  • If you’re looking for info on Canadian friends or family in Japan call DFAIT Emergency Ops at 1-800-387-3124 or e-mail sos@international.gc.ca

Click here for more information from Foreign Affairs.

Air Canada cancels flights to Tokyo

Air travel all throughout Asia has been affected due to the situation in Japan.

“All of the flights leaving YVR to Japan have been cancelled for today,” says Claire Newell with Jubilee Travel.

“A lot of people are heading to Asian resorts — like Thailand or Bali — those may be going through Japan, so check your flight schedule,” she tells us, adding Canadians are having trouble gathering information and getting ahold of the Canadian consulate in Tokyo.

The airline says it’s monitoring the situation before it decides whether to cancel further flights in the coming days. Newell says all airports are open in Hawaii.

Click here for more details.

Quake Details

The quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time and was followed by five powerful aftershocks within about an hour, the strongest measuring 7.1.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, about 125 kilometres off the eastern coast. The area is 380 kilometres 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.

Parmesh Bhatt, who is in Tokyo, tells News1130, “Employees came out of the building; we were very surprised to see a skyscraper in Tokyo was shaking.”

 

In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. NHK said more than four million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.

The ceiling in Kudan Kaikan, a large hall in Tokyo, collapsed, injuring an unknown number of people, NHK said.

Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit, sending 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 quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan’s Coast Guard has set up a 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.

Earthquake Details (from USGS)

Magnitude 8.9
Date-Time
Location 38.322°N, 142.369°E
Depth 24.4 km (15.2 miles) set by location program
Region NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances 130 km (80 miles) E of Sendai, Honshu, Japan
178 km (110 miles) E of Yamagata, Honshu, Japan
178 km (110 miles) ENE of Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
373 km (231 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.5 km (8.4 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=350, Nph=351, Dmin=416.3 km, Rmss=1.46 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=”moment” magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=A
Source
  • USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0001xgp

 

See the latest photos from Twitter.

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Stay tuned to News1130 for the absolute latest on this situation and constant updates.

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