Eastern Japan Hit By Magnitude 8.9 Quake, Tsunamis- Warnings Issued Throughout Pacific

The most powerful earthquake in Japan's recorded history triggered tsunamis reportedly as high as 25 feet that swept up cars, boats, houses and bridges while surging inland shortly after it struck on Friday afternoon.



The magnitude 8.9 quake- even more powerful than last year's Chilean earthquake- struck at around 2:45 PM local time on Friday in Japan. According to the USGS, the epicenter was some 80 miles to the east off the coast of Sendai and 230 miles from Tokyo. Te prefecture of Sendai was hardest hit.



Japanese oficials say that the death toll from the quake and tsunami is at 32 and expected to rise. Although no derailments were reported, Shinkansen (high speed rail) lines across the country were shut down as a precautionary measure. The expressways in and around Tokyo were shut down Friday afternoon as well.

Several fires had also flared up in the aftermath of the earthqauke, including an inferno at the Cosmo oil [Nikkei: 5007] refinery in Chiba and another fire in the turbine building of the Tohoku Electric Power co's [Nikkei: 9506] nuclear plant outside of Onagawa.

Meanwhile, authorities in Hawaii have begun preparing across the islands for an impact with tsunamis generated by the Sendai earthquake.

A tsunami warning was issued at 9:30 p.m. for Hawaii as a result of a 8.9-magnitude earthquake near the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The earthquake and resulting tsunami killed at least 32 people in Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch at 7:56 p.m. after the quake struck 231 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Chip McCreary, director of the warning center, said the latest forecast models show "wave amplitudes of up to 2 meters (6 feet) beyond normal sea levels in Hawaii.

"What these waves look like is an elevation of sea level, where the sea level will rise above its normal level and stay high for 10 or 15 minutes before they recede," McCreary said, explaining the difference between tsunami and regular waves.

Because of the long length of tsunami waves, "they wrap around our islands very efficiently" so there is no point of impact that may see higher waves than other areas.

The waves are expected to impact in Hawaii at 3 AM Hawaian time (8AM Easter).
A Tsunami warning has also been issued for Taiwan, Russia, the Philippines, southern Alaska, British Columbia, the entire West Coast of the USA, Mexico as well as Central and South America and New Zealand.

3/11 UPDATE: Police in Northern Japan have discovered 200-300 bodies in the vicinity of Sendai- the capital of Myagi prefecture and closest major city to the epicenter of the earthquake.

3/11 UPDATE #2: Japanese authorities have issued an official emergency for the Tokyo Electric Power Co's [Nikkei: 9501]Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma after problems were reported with the plant's cooing systems. The plant had automatically shut down after the earthquake and authorities have ordered the evacuation of more than 2000 in a 3km radius from the plant.

The tsunami impacted the California coast at 10 AM Pacific Time, sweeping at least one man out to sea and damaging boats and docks in coastal cities like Santa Cruz and Crescent City.