Hundreds killed as massive earthquake, tsunami hit Japan

TOKYO – The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that pounded the country’s east coast and prompted advisories along Canada’s West Coast.

Hundreds were believed to be dead following the disaster, according to reports from police, and the extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of Japan’s coastline suggested the toll could rise significantly.

The Red Cross in Geneva said the wall of water was higher than some Pacific islands and a tsunami warning was issued for almost the entire Pacific basin.

Another unnerving report was that the Japanese government had ordered the evacuation affecting 2,000 residents near a nuclear plant in Fukushima.

Earlier the government declared an atomic power emergency but said no radiation leaks were detected among its reactors. The plant had shut down but a reactor cooling system failure had led to the evacuation order.

"An instruction has been issued to residents within a radius of three kilometres to evacuate and those within three to 10 kilometres to stay indoors," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

"This is an evacuation instruction just for precaution, and there has been no radiation leak from the reactor."

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Indonesia issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami, which struck Asia in 2004.

There were several strong aftershocks. In Tokyo, there was widespread panic. An oil refinery near the city was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.

"People are flooding the streets. It’s incredible. Everyone is trying to get home but I didn’t see any taxis in Ginza, where there are usually plenty," said Koji Goto, a 43-year-old Tokyo resident.

There were no reports of any Canadians being injured or killed. There are 1,512 Canadian citizens registered with the embassy in Tokyo.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami advisories for the B.C. coast.

Advisories, one threat level below warnings, are issued when a potential tsunami "may produce strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or near water," but when "significant widespread inundation" is not expected.

The first waves were expected to hit North American shores as early as 6 a.m. local time, although just how big or severe they would be was not known.

Prime Minister Harper and his wife, Laureen, offered their condolences to the victims in Japan, and his office said they were keeping an eye on developments on the West Coast.

"We are closely monitoring the potential threat of a tsunami resulting from today’s earthquake in Japan," said a statement from the Prime Minister’s office.

"Canada will stand by the people of Japan during this difficult moment."

The 8.9-magnitude quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, caused many injuries and sparked fires, while the tsunami prompted warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas.

"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan told reporters.

About 4.4 million homes were without power in northern Japan, media said. A hotel collapsed in the city of Sendai and people were feared buried in the rubble.

A ship carrying 100 people had been swept away by the tsunami, Kyodo News Agency added.

Electronics giant Sony Corp., one of the country’s biggest exporters, shut six factories, as air force jets raced toward the northeast coast to determine the extent of the damage.

The Bank of Japan, which has been struggling to boost the anemic economy, said it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability as the yen and Japanese shares fell.

The quake struck just before the Tokyo stock market closed, pushing the Nikkei down to end at a five-week low. Nikkei futures trading in Osaka tumbled as much as 4.7 per cent in reaction to the news.

"I was terrified and I’m still frightened," said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo, where buildings shook violently. "I’ve never experienced such a big quake before."

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.

TV footage showed a muddy wall of water carrying debris across a large swath of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. Ships in once coastal area were lifted from the sea into a harbour where they lay helplessly on their side.

Sendai is 300 kilometres northeast of Tokyo and the epicentre at sea was not far away.

TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed and cars were turning around and speeding away.

Kyodo said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

The quake was the biggest since records began 140 years ago, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It surpasses the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Video: Live streaming coverage of the Japan earthquake via NHK-TV