An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, shaking office buildings in Tokyo and setting off a devastating tsunami that swept away cars and boats. The quake — the world’s fifth largest since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey — struck at 2.46 p.m. local time.
There were reports of injuries in Tokyo as officials tried to assess damage, injuries and deaths from the quake and tsunami, but there were no immediate details. Japanese television showed aerial footage of an ominous 13-foot muddy wave washing across land along the northeastern coast near the epicenter.
In various locations, live TV coverage 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 into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. Waves could be seen splashing into city streets and over bridges.
All trains in Tokyo were stopped, and black plumes of smoke rose over the skyline. Office workers rushed out of their buildings. Subways were halted, trapping commuters underground. In the nation with the world’s third-largest economy, all airports were closed.
*** As More News Comes In .. ***
HIROSHIMA - A powerful tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake devastated the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, leaving hundreds dead and launching waves that threatened coastlines as far east as California.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the 8.9-magnitude earthquake was the strongest in the country's history. Television stations showed footage of tsunami waves, measuring upwards of 20 feet, that surged toward the northeastern shoreline, pulling cars into the water and knocking boats and buildings onto their sides.
In Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the population center nearest the epicenter, houses floated like rafts along the waves. In some areas, the wall of water looked more like a black shroud of sludge and debris, consuming a vast, flat patchwork of farmland.
Japan's Kyodo News agency said between 200 and 300 bodies were found near Sendai about eight hours after the quake. Officials told the news service that they had lost contact with at least one train traveling in that area, and a ship carrying at least 100 people was said to have been swept out to sea.
The national police agency confirmed 59 deaths, with officials saying that number was sure to rise as emergency workers accessed the hardest-hit areas.
Tsunami warnings or alerts were issued for dozens of places around the globe, including the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami struck Hawaii about 3 a.m. (8 a.m. in Washington). Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie had told residents to head for higher ground, and news reports said roadways and beaches were empty . No significant damage was reported.
Waves are predicted to hit the western coast of the United States between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m Eastern time.
Russian authorities on the Kuril Islands northeast of Japan evacuated more than 11,000 residents from coastal areas as waves as high as 10 feet hit the shore, according to Russia's Emergencies Ministry. Aftershocks measured at a magnitude of 5.0 were felt on the islands, but no deaths or serious destruction were reported.
In Japan, Prime Minister Naoto Kan addressed the nation, saying the government will do "everything possible to minimize the damage" and calling for international assistance. "We ask the people of Japan to exercise the spirit of fraternity and act fast and to assist one's family and neighbors," Kan said.
Japan's stock market closed down 1.7 percent, and global markets fell sharply as well.
President Obama, who was briefed on the quake about 4 a.m., said the United States "stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial."
The U.S. military - which said all its personnel in Japan were accounted for - announced it was coordinating with Japan's government. Several countries, including Russia and South Korea, put emergency crews on standby.
In Japan, the quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:46 a.m. in Washington). According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of about six miles, about 80 miles off the coast east of Miyagi Prefecture, a mostly rural but still densely populated part of Honshu, Japan's largest island.
Tokyo - which is also on Honshu and about 230 miles south of the epicenter - appeared to escape substantial damage, though some fires were reported and buildings shook violently for several minutes during the initial quake.
At least 2 million people were without power in the capital. Rail service was temporarily halted. Mobile phone communication - a staple in Japan - was largely disrupted. Narita International Airport, the main international gateway, canceled all its flights for the afternoon and evening but resumed outgoing flights late Friday night.
Workers and residents fled from buildings, terrified by the aftershocks that continued for hours and refusing to return indoors. With the normally reliable mass transit system shut down, thousands of commuters from Tokyo's expansive suburbs were stranded, unable to find a taxi. Shelters opened their doors to accommodate them; some spent the night in temples, university buildings and concert halls.
Japan's government urged thousands to evacuate from the area around Fukushima No. 1 power plant, a nuclear power station 170 miles northeast of Tokyo, after its cooling system failed.
The malfunction did not result in the leak of any radioactive material, a government spokesman said, and the plant - like all Japan's nuclear facilities - automatically shut down after the earthquake. But power outages, and the subsequent failure of backup generators necessary for the cooling process, prompted officials to order the evacuation.
Kyodo also reported an explosion at a petrochemical plant in Sendai.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, the government's top spokesman, said Japan's Self-Defense Force had been dispatched to Miyagi Prefecture to assist in recovery efforts. The earthquake will strain the resources of a country already struggling with a two-decade economic stagnation and a burdensome public debt.
"Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous damage," Edano said. "We will make maximum relief effort based on that assessment."
As one of the world's most earthquake-susceptible countries, Japan has invested significant resources in guarding itself. A strict building code enacted in 1981 requires structures to be built using ductile reinforced concrete, which provides flexibility that can help withstand significant tremors.
The 1995 Kobe earthquake - which until Friday was the country's most devastating - leveled many buildings built before the 1981 code was in place. The death toll from that earthquake, which struck a much more heavily populated area, rose above 6,000.
Improvements to wall designs were implemented in Japan within one year of the Kobe quake. In recent years, many public buildings have been reinforced. Every year, Japan also conducts disaster-preparedness exercises.
The country has invested millions to fortify its coastal cities against quake-triggered tsunamis - Tokyo, for example, has a system of flood gates to divert the walls of water that a tsunami can generate. But Japan's NHK broadcasting network showed dramatic devastation, as water first receded and then crashed forward, moving faster than anybody who tried to outrun or out-drive it.
On land, there were reports of fallen buildings and people buried beneath them. In Sendai, the port city nearest the epicenter, the airport was underwater, and employees and passengers crowded on the building's roof. Television footage showed scenes of chaos - flooding dislodging the foundations of buildings from the bottom, fires consuming them from the top.
Japanese media reported at least 36 fires throughout the country. In industrial Chiba Prefecture, just east of Tokyo, a fire blazed at an oil refinery.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an 8.9-magnitude quake would be the fifth-largest earthquake in recorded history (see a list of the largest quakes since 1900). It was significantly more powerful than the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, killing more than 300,000. The earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand, last month was a 6.3-magnitude quake.
The survey detected 19 aftershocks in the hours after the crash, some of which measured as high as 6.4, 6.8 and 7.1 in magnitude. In the days before this earthquake, Japan had experienced a series of smaller tremors.
Have A Safe Weekend Everyone!
사진 - from LA Times
이기우 편집 2011. 3. 11
