Hundreds Feared Dead After Quake, Tsunami Hit Northeastern Japan

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Hundreds Feared Dead After Quake, Tsunami Hit Northeastern Japan

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 11.03.2011 17:56

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan today, triggering a tsunami that swept away houses, vehicles, boats, and buildings.

The quake was the largest in the country’s recorded history.

Dozens of powerful aftershocks and a giant wall of water caused devastation and sparked fires in several areas along the coast, including in the capital, Tokyo.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the death toll is likely to surpass 1,000.

Media reports quoting police said 200 to 300 bodies had been found in the coastal city of Sendai, one of the areas hit hardest by the giant wave.

Hundreds more were injured and missing, as thousands were evacuated to shelters.

Spawning Tsunamis

Tsunami waves spawned by the quake have already struck Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Russia's Far East, and Hawaii, but there are no reports of damage or casualties. By mid-morning local time, waves had also reached the western coast of the U.S. mainland.

Sadia Kaenzig, a senior communications adviser at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, told RFE/RL that her organization was especially concerned for developing countries across the Pacific that do not necessarily have the adequate prevention or response mechanisms in place.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers some 125 kilometers off Japan's eastern coast.

In Tokyo, some 400 kilometers to the south, buildings shook violently and a number of them caught fire.

Trains were halted in Tokyo, and its main airport was closed, while more than 4 million buildings were reported without power in the capital and its suburbs.

TV pictures showed a major fire engulfing an oil refinery near Tokyo and reports said firms such as Sony, Toyota, and Mitsubishi Chemical also shut factories.

Nuclear Concerns

Some nuclear power plants were also shut down.

The Japanese government told 2,000 residents living by the Fukushima nuclear power plant to evacuate following a reactor cooling system failure. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that the United States had transported coolant for the reactor to Japan.

Officials earlier declared an atomic power emergency at the plant but said no radiation leaks were detected from its reactors.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japanese authorities also reported a fire at the Onagawa nuclear power plant, but the fire "had been extinguished."

A government spokesman said the country was sending troops to the quake-hit area to join relief efforts.

The United Nations said it has 62 international disaster response teams on alert and ready to help in Japan.

World: ‘Shocked And Saddened’

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said “the world is shocked and saddened by the images coming from Japan this morning.” He expressed his “deepest sympathies” to the Japanese people and government and to those who had lost family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

More than 45 countries, including United States, many European nations, China, India, and Pakistan, have also pledged assistance to Japan.

In a statement, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed condolences for the loss of life and said Washington “stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial.” The U.S. Defense Department said it was preparing American forces in the Pacific to provide relief.

The World Bank has also said it is ready to “mobilize” help.

The Tokyo stock market extended its losses after the quake, with the Nikkei average hitting a five-week low.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

A 7.2 magnitude quake -- significantly smaller than today’s -- killed more than 6,400 people in the western city of Kobe in 1995 and caused $100 billion in damage.

In one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, an earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in 2004, triggering a series of devastating tsunamis that killed an estimated 230,000 people in fourteen countries across the Indian Ocean.

written by RFE/RL’s central newsroom, with agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/japan_earthquake_tsunami/2334658.html

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Hundreds Feared Dead After Quake, Tsunami Hit Northeastern Japan