A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck northeastern Japan on Friday, triggering a massive tsunami that swept away houses and cars in Miyagi Prefecture and killed at least 15 people in Miyagi and four other prefectures.
Damage to a building in Yokohama storefront shows the extent of a powerful earthquake which rocked northeaster Japan and caused prolonged and powerful temblors some 300 km south in Tokyo and neighboring regions.
The 2:46 p.m. earthquake is one of the strongest ever to have occurred in the quake-prone archipelago, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, with its magnitude surpassing the 7.9 registered in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake in Tokyo and its vicinity, which killed more than 140,000 people. A wide, muddy stream was seen moving rapidly across a residential area near Natori River in Miyagi on live TV coverage by public broadcaster NHK, leveling everything in its path. The tsunami also reached Sendai airport, submerging the runway.
The quake measured the highest intensity level of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale in Miyagi. The weather agency initially announced that the quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 but revised it upward to 8.4 about an hour later, and revised its estimate again to 8.8 later.
The quake killed at least 15 people and injured many others, not only in Miyagi and its vicinity but also in Tokyo, some 300 kilometers from the prefectural capital of Sendai, where a prolonged and powerful temblor was also felt, as well as strong aftershocks.
The Metropolitan Police Department said many people were injured when part of the Kudan Kaikan hall in Chiyoda Ward in central Tokyo collapsed.
The weather agency issued a rare warning of huge tsunami for the Pacific coastal region including Iwate Prefecture. NHK said a large number of cars were washed away into the sea when a tsunami hit Iwate's Kamaishi port.
In Kyodo News' Sendai office, part of the ceiling collapsed and bookshelves and office equipment toppled over.
Fires occurred across a wide area, including at an ironworks in Chiba Prefecture.
There are 11 nuclear reactors in nuclear power plants in Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures, all heavily affected by the quake, and all of the reactors automatically halted operations following it, according to the industry ministry, which said no radioactive leaks have been detected.
A major blackout occurred across a wide area of northeastern Japan.
The quake affected the nation's key transportation systems, including Narita airport, which shut its runways for safety checks.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan told an emergency government meeting held following the quake that the government will work on the crisis with its "whole body and soul" and urged citizens to stay calm and act promptly when needed.
At least 6 dead, numerous others injured
At least six people died and numerous others were injured in the eastern half of Japan following Friday's powerful earthquake which rocked northeastern Japan and surrounding regions, according to local officials.
At least two people died in Miyagi Prefecture, a person died after being swept away in a car in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, and a 67-year-old man died after being hit in the head by part of a stone wall in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, officials said.
A woman in her 60s or 70s died when a roof collapsed in Takahagi, Ibaraki Prefecture, and a man died in the town of Haga, Tochigi Prefecture, after a wall crumbled at a factory, officials said.
The Fukushima prefectural government said one person in Sukagawa appears to have died.
A man is in cardiopulmonary arrest after a building went down in Ryugasaki, the Ibaraki prefectural government said.
Fire department officials in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, said they received at least 20 reports of injuries, including people being hit by falling objects and trapped under debris.
A medical center in Sendai said about 10 people were taken to the facility with injuries including bone fractures.
In Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, about 10 people were injured when part of the roof of a hall collapsed, the Metropolitan Police Department said. One person is reported to be in cardiopulmonary arrest, according to the metropolitan government.
©japantimes.co.jp
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