NEWS: 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan creating Tsunami! *Pacific Nations on High Alert*

The above video is one I took of the news during the tsunami.

Large areas of Japan's northern Pacific coast have been swamped by a devastating tsunami, engulfing entire towns following a major 8.9 offshore quake.

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 US tsunami monitoring centre has widened a warning to virtually the entire Pacific coast, including Australia and South America.

But 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 in Takahagi, Ibaraki prefecture.

Shinkansen bullet trains stopped when the quake struck, while five nuclear power plants in northern Japan have been shut down.

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 and airstrips in Miyagi prefecture have been closed.

The quake was felt as far away as the Chinese capital of Beijing, 2,500 kilometres to the west, residents said.

This is the second massive earthquake in less than a month, there are also many floods and other disasters happening.

Discuss Why here.

Thanks

-Darwin2011




Update of Warnings!!!!!



HONOLULU — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has widened its tsunami warning to include Hawaii and the rest of the Pacific Ocean.

The warning issued Thursday at 9:31 HST p.m. follows a massive earthquake that has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. It says the estimated earliest arrival in Hawaii of the first tsunami wave is 2:59 a.m. HST Friday.

The warning also includes Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Central and South America. The coast of North America is not included in the warning.

Tsunami warnings are issued due to the imminent threat of a tsunami.

Text of warning:

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC

OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...

WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... A WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

JAPAN / RUSSIA / MARCUS IS. / N. MARIANAS / GUAM / WAKE IS. /

TAIWAN / YAP / PHILIPPINES / MARSHALL IS. / BELAU / MIDWAY IS. /

POHNPEI / CHUUK / KOSRAE / INDONESIA / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /

NAURU / JOHNSTON IS. / SOLOMON IS. / KIRIBATI / HOWLAND-BAKER /

HAWAII / TUVALU / PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / TOKELAU / JARVIS IS. /

WALLIS-FUTUNA / SAMOA / AMERICAN SAMOA / COOK ISLANDS / NIUE /

AUSTRALIA / FIJI / NEW CALEDONIA / TONGA / MEXICO /

KERMADEC IS / FR. POLYNESIA / NEW ZEALAND / PITCAIRN /

GUATEMALA / EL SALVADOR / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / ANTARCTICA /

PANAMA / HONDURAS / CHILE / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / PERU

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY

NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE

DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND

ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

I was about to announce this here in EuroSpore.

Brace yourselves, comrades.

Beware of fires which will spread across the areas hit by the Earthquake. Also watch for after shocks which will come shortly.

If this is a 2012, let it come already.

Best of luck to all.

Drew980 wrote:If this is a 2012, let it come already.

Best of luck to all.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I'm after hearing about it today! It's an absolute nightmare for those that are being affected. I just hope this will end soon. Also I didn't see Ireland up there in the list. Does that mean it's safe or what? I'm gonna have to disagree with the whole early 2012 ending thing. There has been possible endings that's waaaay back with the same disasters.

Of course Ireland isn't on the list. There's a whole continent inbetween

I actually just felt my entire house shift a few minutes ago. This makes me worried.

Well if that's the case then Ireland is safe. I still feel sorry for those that are being affected.

8.9? I thought it was 8.4 magnitude.

Either way, it does look rather damaging. Of course I'm safe here in London, but I feel sorry for those unfortunate enough to be closer to the Eruption's origin.

TyrannoFan wrote:8.9? I thought it was 8.4 magnitude.

Either way, it does look rather damaging. Of course I'm safe here in London, but I feel sorry for those unfortunate enough to be closer to the Eruption's origin.

Actually, the biggest problem wasn't the Earthquake itself, but rather the tidal waves that affect more those that aren't really close.

88 thousand people unaccounted for, according to www.bt.dk.

Lumorei wrote:I actually just felt my entire house shift a few minutes ago. This makes me worried.

What side of Canada are you on?

This is only the beginning.

I've been reading about this. The amount of destruction that can come from a single natural dissaster is really overwelming. I'm not anywhere with tsunami range, but I still don't like it. I heard someone died in California for some reason (not sure though).

Also, let me say I'm not a 2012 "end of world" believer. While the world can end in numerious ways, 2012 really doesn't sound like a "end of the world" time.

Seems like its one natural disaster after another now. The floods here in Australia, then the massive earthquake in New Zealand, now a gargantuan Earthquake in Japan, and Tsunamis on the way.. When does it end?

Also I was watching the news late last night. I thought they said it after re-calculating the strength of the earthquake was 8.8 not 8.9. Still unbelievably powerful.

Also the aftershock of the Japan earthquake, was stronger than the main earthquake which destroyed Christchurch in New Zealand. Just the aftershock.

Yet another domino effect, first we get earthquakes. Which decimate japan, starting fires. Then nature sends us her very own fire department. A wall of water to extinguish the flames, but now most of japan is a muddy river. This is certainly bad, lets just hope it doesn't get worse, I can't imagine how terrifying it must be for the people stuck in japan.

Boy, those poor people. Their entire way of life is just...gone.

Anyone noticed there are certain areas on Earth which are hit by natural disasters more often?

It's due to the tectonic plates moving in that area :/

I know, I know.

How damage did the tsunami do exactly anyway? From what I've seen, loads of houses were wrecked and there was something about a fire starting, I believe. I think the quake did the fire though.

Not sure, don't remember quite a lot of things about what happened.

You know what we really have to fear for? The aftershock of the earthquake in the Japan area will be forwarded, either through the Eurasian plate, which could ultimately rip Turkey and it's neighbors apart or it'll run through the Pacific plate and could possibly bury most of California.

This, of course, is all speculation, but the tension has to go somewhere.

Looks like the Fallout universe is going to settle earlier than expected.

Time to start creating factions.

The only safe place it seems nowadays is the Northern half of Europe.

I heard Crescent City suffered millions of $$$ in damage from the tsunami.

It's just another catastrophic lesson that human beings do not own the Earth. It's the other way around.