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| Japan earthquake, 11/03/2011. Japan tsunami |
At least 60 people have died and many more are missing after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the east coast of Japan.
The 8.9-magnitude quake hit at 2.46pm local time (5.46am GMT) and even though Japan is one of the most accustomed nation to tremors, today’s has been extremely different, being the biggest to rock the State in 140 years.
There have been several strong aftershocks, making buildings shake in the capital of Tokyo, hundreds of miles away from the epicentre, which is understood to be at sea.
Sendai, 300km northeast of Tokyo, was the city damaged the most by the 10-metre high tsunami. Witnesses have said it destroyed everything in its path and television pictures are currently showing homes, cars, farm buildings and boats being swept away by the powerful water.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has issued a tsunami warning to the whole of the Pacific basin, except for mainland United States and Canada. It covers Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, the Pacific coast of Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Central and South America.
The people and government of Hawaii are getting ready for a tsunami to hit its chain of islands this afternoon.
Watch LIVE news on Japan earthquake,Japan tsunami on watchersnplayers click here
People on the coast in Japan, where the quake was felt the strongest, have been asked to move to higher ground as the area is consumed by fires and a wall of water. At least 20,000 people are being evacuated from the western prefecture of Wakayama.
All Japanese ports are currently closes and many airlines have cancelled flights into Japan.
The US Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.9.
The yen and Tokyo stocks fell, while Japanese government bond futures gained. The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 180 points to close at 10,254. Trading volume spiked as the quake sparked last-minute selling, topping 3.15 billion shares.
The government has set up a task force at the Prime Minister's Office and the Bank of Japan has established a disaster control team, headed by Governor Masaaki Shirakawa.
Watch LIVE news on Japan earthquake,Japan tsunami on watchersnplayers click here
There have been several strong aftershocks, making buildings shake in the capital of Tokyo, hundreds of miles away from the epicentre, which is understood to be at sea.
Sendai, 300km northeast of Tokyo, was the city damaged the most by the 10-metre high tsunami. Witnesses have said it destroyed everything in its path and television pictures are currently showing homes, cars, farm buildings and boats being swept away by the powerful water.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii has issued a tsunami warning to the whole of the Pacific basin, except for mainland United States and Canada. It covers Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, the Pacific coast of Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Central and South America.
The people and government of Hawaii are getting ready for a tsunami to hit its chain of islands this afternoon.
Watch LIVE news on Japan earthquake,Japan tsunami on watchersnplayers click here
People on the coast in Japan, where the quake was felt the strongest, have been asked to move to higher ground as the area is consumed by fires and a wall of water. At least 20,000 people are being evacuated from the western prefecture of Wakayama.
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| Japan earthquake, 11/03/2011. Japan tsunami |
All Japanese ports are currently closes and many airlines have cancelled flights into Japan.
The US Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.9.
The yen and Tokyo stocks fell, while Japanese government bond futures gained. The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 180 points to close at 10,254. Trading volume spiked as the quake sparked last-minute selling, topping 3.15 billion shares.
The government has set up a task force at the Prime Minister's Office and the Bank of Japan has established a disaster control team, headed by Governor Masaaki Shirakawa.
Watch LIVE news on Japan earthquake,Japan tsunami on watchersnplayers click here
WHAT CAUSED THE EARTHQUAKE?
Dr Roger Musson, of the British Geological Survey (BGS), explained that the devastating earthquake occurred because the Pacific Plate is plunging underneath Japan.
He said: 'The cause of this earthquake is that the Pacific Plate, which is one of the largest of the tectonic plates that makes up the crust of the Earth, is plunging deep underneath Japan.
'It's being pushed down and it can't slide down smoothly so it sticks.
'It sticks for tens of years and then eventually it breaks and moves very suddenly down and as it does so it buckles and gives the seabed a sudden kick over areas of hundreds of square kilometres and that displaces an enormous volume of water.
'That water just races away in the form of this enormous wave in all directions.'
He said: 'The cause of this earthquake is that the Pacific Plate, which is one of the largest of the tectonic plates that makes up the crust of the Earth, is plunging deep underneath Japan.
'It's being pushed down and it can't slide down smoothly so it sticks.
'It sticks for tens of years and then eventually it breaks and moves very suddenly down and as it does so it buckles and gives the seabed a sudden kick over areas of hundreds of square kilometres and that displaces an enormous volume of water.
'That water just races away in the form of this enormous wave in all directions.'
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| Japan earthquake, 11/03/2011. Japan tsunami |
