Friday, March 11, 2011

The Japanese coast hit by a tsunami

Two very violent earthquakes occurred, Friday, March 11, off the northeast coast of Japan, which violently swaying buildings in Tokyo and triggering a warning against the risk of a tsunami up to ten meters high, according to the Agency Japan Meteorological and USGS. A first quake of magnitude 8.9 occurred at 2 h 46 local according to the USGS.

A second quake of 6.4, occurred at 3 h 06 (local), according to the USGS. According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 25 km, 130 km east of Sendai, on the island of Honshu. In the capital, located 380 km from the epicenter, the buildings were shaken for at least two minutes and most occupants rushed into the streets.

An aftershock measuring 6.7 was felt in Tokyo violently after the first two shocks. A maximum alert has been triggered by the Japanese Meteorological Agency and by the U.S. Centers for tsunami monitoring, who warned against a massive tsunami with a height of up to ten meters. This warning is valid for Russia, Indonesia - where the evacuation of some coasts is underway - Taiwan, the Philippines, Hawaii - where the sirens were heard by the inhabitants, who were asked to evacuate some areas Coastal - and the Mariana Islands.

The population is also being evacuated in the Kuril Islands, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Russian emergencies. The earthquake was felt as far as Beijing and the U.S. Centers for tsunami monitoring has extended the warning to all coasts of the Pacific, including Australia and South America.

The earthquake caused a fire in the district of Odaiba, near the port of the Japanese capital, adding the media. According to Kyodo, there would be victims in the north-east. A roof collapsed in a building in central Tokyo where 600 students participated in a graduation ceremony, leaving many injured, according to firefighters and the media.

Six fires were reported in Tokyo. Four nuclear power plants were closed and one of them, in Miyagi, was hit by an outbreak of fire. No radioactive leak has been reported, however, assured the Prime Minister of Japan, Naoto Kan. As a precaution, the state of emergency was declared, however, nuclear and 2,000 people were evacuated around the plant.

The authorities in Wakayama Prefecture ordered the evacuation of 20,000 people face the risk of storm surges, the Kyodo wrote, adding that four million homes were without electricity in Tokyo and its surroundings and a fire erupted in an oil refinery in Chiba, near the capital. Traffic at Narita Airport was aborted.

Rail and road were stopped in a large part of Japan. Waves 10 meters high swept Sendai, north-east. The Ministry of Defence has eight military aircraft scrambled to inspect the damage. Japan has also sought the assistance of U.S. forces stationed in the archipelago (47 000 soldiers) for disaster relief.

The television also aired images of the city of Kamaichi, affected by a small tsunami. We see boats, cars and trucks floating on the water, carried by the wave. Police said the disaster has made some sixty dead and 56 missing. The public broadcaster NHK cited several victims in a landslide in the north.

The agency Kyodo reported on the other hand a ship with a hundred people on board was swept away by giant wave that swept the north coast. Japan dispatched its naval vessels self-defense (FAD) to the area of \u200b\u200bMiyagi. The governor of Miyagi Prefecture has also asked the central government sent the army, the source said.

The Pacific coast of northeastern Japan, Sanriku called, is regularly hit by earthquakes and tsunamis. An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 it is still produced on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake killed more than 3,000 deaths in the region. According to seismologists, the earthquake was the largest since 140 years in Japan.

The experts emphasize that even if the islands regularly experiences earthquakes, it's very rare that they are also strong.

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