There is widespread destruction in much of norther Japan in the wake of a tsunami following a magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit the country earlier Friday.
A tsunami warning has been issued to Indonesia, the Philippines, the Pacific coast of Russia, Hawaii and Taiwan. According to NOAA, the estimated arrival time in Hawaii of the first tsunami wave is 3:07 AM local time Friday.
Russia is evacuating people from coastal areas in the Kuril Islands, a local emergencies services official told Ria Novosti.
A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves, where each individual wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas. The danger can continue for many hours after the initial was as subsequent waves arrive, the NOAA warned.
Tsunami wave heights cannot be predicted and the first wave may not be the largest.
Japanese television shows the huge wave sweeping away ships, cars and even buildings. Media reports say Japanese Premier Naoto Kan said the earthquake has caused “major damage” in northeastern Japan, but that nuclear facilities were not damaged and there was no radiation leakage.
According to VOA, video footage showed widespread flooding as mud waves carried debris over farmland in Sendai, the capital of Miyagi prefecture.
VOA also noted that large-scale damage could be seen in various locations along the coast. In Chiba prefecture, a massive oil refinery fire has broken out.
reported from various agencies