Tsunami effects mild in Canada

There were no physical repercussions in Canada on Friday from the massive earthquake that devastated Japan overnight, despite fears that potentially damaging tsunami waves would reach British Columbia’s shores.

Sections of the B.C. coast recorded up to a metre in the rise of water on Friday morning as the tsunami-linked waves hit, but no damage was generated by Japan’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake.

Glen Plummer, at B.C.’s Provincial Emergency Program, said all waves were less than one metre high, but officials early Friday were still "warning people to stay away, and out of the water." The West Coast and Alaska Warning Center had issued a tsunami watch for parts of British Columbia.

In Japan, at least 1,000 people were believed to have been killed by the earthquake or the related tsunami that hit that country’s east coast.

No Canadians were known to have been injured or killed, despite there being 1,512 Canadian citizens registered with the embassy in Japan.

A statement from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada said officials there "are actively working to determine the impact on any Canadians that may be affected, and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens in need."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he had spoken to Japan’s ambassador to Canada, Kaoru Ishikawa, to offer condolences and assistance.

"We do want to offer our heartfelt condolences to the Japanese people," Harper said at an event in Guelph, Ont. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with all of those who have been affected by the powerful earthquake and the tsunami that have struck that country."

Tiffany Chong, a British Columbia native living in Kunitachi, Japan, said she was in a pottery class when the ground began to shake.

"We all ran outside to get to an open space and crouched down," she said in an email. "The ground was rolling as if we were on a boat in choppy water. I kept looking up at the telephone poles with all the electrical wiring and hoping they weren’t going to fall on me."

Kunitachi is about 400 kilometres south of Sendai, where the quake hit hardest. Chong said friends in downtown Tokyo told her that their office buildings swayed.

Blaise and Maynard Plant, brothers from Ottawa, are part of the Japanese-based pop band, Monkey Majik. They were in Sendai when the earthquake and tsunami hit.

Tweets from Blaise indicated all but one of the four band members were accounted for. He had yet to hear from one of the Japanese members, Tax.

"Currently 2 a.m., power still out, cold," he tweeted at one point. "Keeping positive, but so many people have been injured or killed. It’s hard to sleep. Unimaginable."

Melissa Dawe of Topsail, N.L., is in Japan, teaching English. Located about 220 kilometres northwest of Sendai, Dawe said the Akita area was without power.

"I’m OK, but we’re still having strong aftershocks and settling in for a long night," she said in a message to the St. John’s Telegram.

She later reported: "Everything is black with occasional sirens. We were at school when it happened and ran outside. Parked cars and steel electricity poles were moving."

Christina Laffin, an Asian studies professor with the University of British Columbia who’s spending the current academic year in Tokyo, saw extensive damage to her apartment.

"Things have finally calmed here after seemingly endless aftershocks through about 1 a.m.," she said in a statement issued through the university. "I am still awaiting the return of my partner as all trains are full and travelling very slowly. I’m watching the news and cleaning up my apartment; it was trashed."Ê

Those worried about Canadian friends or family who may have been affected by the earthquake are asked to call 1-800-387-3124, or email sos(at)international.gc.ca.

The Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations for relief efforts in Japan. They can be made online at http://www.redcross.ca/helpnow, at local branch offices or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

With files from Douglas Quan, Victoria Times Colonist, Ottawa Citizen and St. John’s Telegram