TOKYO (NewsCore) - UPDATES:

• The tsunami carried away a ship with 100 people on board, Miyagi police told news agency Kyodo News.
• US President Barack Obama offered his condolences and America's help to Japan
• Japan declared a nuclear emergency they were unable to pump water to cool the nuclear reactor
• There are over 1,000,000 people without power

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A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake off Japan's northeastern coast triggered Pacific-wide tsunami alerts in at least 19 countries, as US authorities put the entire west coast on alert Friday.

Whole towns in Japan's north were swamped by a wall of water by the 33-foot (10-meter) tsunami that slammed into the nation's Pacific coast following the offshore quake.

The quake was the biggest earthquake in Japan since records began, eclipsing the 7.9-magnitude Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo in 1923, and the 6.8-magnitude quake that hit Kobe in 1996. The quake was the world's seventh largest on record, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

As the tsunami swept across the Pacific, warning sirens blasted across Hawaii with the first waves expected to hit around 2:55am local time (7:55am ET). John Cummings of the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management said, "This looks like this will be a very serious event."

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Ewa Beach, west of Honolulu, issued a widespread warning extending across virtually the entire Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Antarctica and South America. Hawaii is some 4,000 miles east of the epicenter of Friday's earthquake.

The Hawaii warning was closely followed by warnings issued across California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

The Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska reported that the warning was in effect from Point Concepcion in central California to the Oregon-Washington border and parts of southern Alaska.

The Philippine government also strongly urged residents of its Pacific coast to "go farther inland" to escape the tsunami threat, AFP reported.

"People whose houses are very near coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean are strongly advised to go farther inland," the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a bulletin.

The Red Cross reported that the height of the tsunami was higher than some Pacific islands.

The quake struck about 237 miles (382 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the USGS said, at a depth of 15.2 miles (24.4km). Another quake struck only minutes after the first.

Live television pictures showed water engulfing coastal areas of the Miyagi prefecture, in the northeast of the country, 200 miles (320 kilometers) from capital Tokyo, washing away houses, buildings and other structures in its path.

People in the region were forced to flee to safety on any point of high ground they could find. The area's Sendai airport was completely underwater.

Belly-up ships, twisted cars and debris from shattered buildings crashed through the streets of Japanese port towns. A muddy river filled with rubble -- some of it on fire and belching smoke -- raced across rice fields and through towns, aerial television footage showed in one of the worst-hit areas, Miyagi prefecture.

Amid the devastaton, a fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in Onagawa, a town of northeastern Japan, although authorities said there was no escape of radioactive material.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people to remain calm amid the tragedy. Kan added that no radiation leaks were detected from the country's nuclear power stations in the wake of the tsunami.

"I ask the people to act calmly while listening carefully to information from radio and TV," he said. "We should all help each other to minimize the damage."

At least 26 people were initially reported killed, however the death toll is expected to rise dramatically.

The UN said it had 30 rescue teams on standby to assist in the rescue mission.

The tremor lasted around four or five minutes, witnesses said, with powerful aftershocks continuing for hours.

Defense force aircraft were dispatched to check quake damage while naval vessels were sent to Miyagi prefecture.

Around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike Japan, which sits on the "Ring of Fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

Friday's quake was a reminder of the 9.1-magnitude quake which hit off Indonesia in 2004, unleashing a massive tsunami that devastated coastlines in countries around the Indian Ocean as far away as Africa. More than 220,000 people were killed.

It also comes only weeks after New Zealand's Christchurch was hit by a 6.3 magnitude quake which killed at least 166 people and destroyed much of the city.

JAPAN: 11:39 p.m. (JST) / 9:39 a.m. (ET), Friday

Tokyo Disneyland's car park was drenched with water-logged segments from the ground following the earthquake that rocked Japan's Pacific coast Friday, police told AFP.

Police said the phenomenon was due to liquefaction of soil caused by the intense shaking of the tremor, not a result of the tsunami.

There were 69,000 people at Tokyo Disneyland and the neighboring Tokyo Disney Sea when the quake occurred, a spokesman at the local Urawa police station told AFP. There were no injuries or property damage reported at the theme parks.

"The visitors have been evacuated to safe places, but there are many puddles due to liquefaction around the theme parks," he said.

Here's an image from Twitter, reportedly of visitors waiting at the park after the quake

JAPAN: 11:33 p.m. (JST) / 9:33 a.m. (ET), Friday

JAPAN: 11:28 p.m. (JST) / 9:28 a.m. (ET), Friday

A tsunami wave hit also wiped out Japan's main Sendai Airport, as a wave of debris crashed through. WATCH:

See a picture of people watching the wave approach here.

JAPAN: 10:59 p.m. (JST) / 8:59 a.m. (ET), Friday

The tsunami that caused a massive earthquake in Japan is now crossing the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. National Weather Service has issued a warning for at least 50 countries or territories around the Pacific and the U.S. coast is now bracing for the impact of the waves.

Tsunami waves began rolling into Hawaii, with readings of between 6 and 8 feet expected in some areas, CNN reported. The first impact in Hawaii was felt shortly after 3:07 a.m. local time (8:07 a.m. ET), according to Hawaii State Civil Defense, which issued a tsunami warning, followed by an increase in water coming ashore.

Honolulu is planning for several contingencies, because it is not certain how large the waves could be and where they may rush inland, Mayor Peter Carlisle told CNN. The Coast Guard is preparing for the worst-case scenario.

On the Oregon coast, sirens are urging people to seek higher ground. Information indicated a wave of more than 6 feet could reach Brookings in southern Oregon, while a wave of about 4 1/2 feet was predicted for northern Oregon's Clatsop spit. The waves are expected between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

In Alaska, the Alaska Emergency Management says the tsunami caused a wave just over 5 feet at Shemya and about 18 inches at Adak and Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. Shemya is 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Communities along much of the U.S. West Coast are under tsunami warnings. Read Tsunami warnings from the National Weather Service.

JAPAN: 10:59 p.m. (JST) / 8:58 a.m. (ET), Friday

This map shows a projection of tsunami waves across the Pacific, courtesy of Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider:

JAPAN: 9:30 p.m. (JST) / 7:31 a.m. (ET), Friday

Japan was struck with a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks Friday afternoon. Washington Post reporter Chico Harlan reported from Japan:

The first earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:46 a.m. in Washington), causing buildings to sway in Tokyo for several minutes.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the largest initial earthquake struck at a depth of about six miles, about 80 miles off the coast east of Miyagi Prefecture, a mostly rural but still densely populated part of Honshu, Japan's largest island.

Tokyo -- which is also on Honshu and about 230 miles south of the epicenter -- appeared to escape substantial damage, though some fires were reported and buildings shook violently during the initial quake.

AP reported there were "no reports of injuries to American personnel there or damage to U.S. installations or ships in the area."

JAPAN: 9:30 p.m. (JST) / 7:31 a.m. (ET), Friday

Harlan called in this audio report from Hiroshima. He had been getting ready to board a bullet train when the train was delayed by several minutes, which was a "really unusual occurrence." Harlan tells of thousands of train passengers who went silent, looking at images of cars and houses like driftwood washing away. LISTEN:

JAPAN: 9:15 p.m. (JST) / 7:15 a.m. (ET), Friday

Watch video of the live quake here:

As of 16:11 UTC: At least 200 people have been killed in a massive earthquake in Japan that also triggered a devastating tsunami.  The quake - the most powerful to hit Japan in at least 100 years - caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.

Tsunami Waves Force Evacuations In Hawaii

UPDATE 7:50 a.m. PST: According to the L.A. Times. authorities and local reports say that the waves  have  so far been only a foot higher than normal. However, authorites have warned that more tsunami waves are expected to hit ths state.

UPDATE 5:30 a.m. PST: CNN is reporting that tsunami waves are hitting Hawaii.

Evacuations are underway in Hawaii amid tsunami fears following a magnitude 8.9 earthquake that struck Friday in Japan.

The tsunami waves in Hawaii were expected to hit around or after 3:00 a.m. local time. The waves, which could be as high as six feet, are expected to reach the island of Kauai first.

Hawaiian officials are telling residents and tourists to get out of the coastal areas and head for higher ground. The tourist hub of Waikiki Beach in Oahu is among the areas under evacuation. 

CNN reported:

The first impact in Hawaii may be felt around 3:07 a.m. local time (8:07 a.m. ET), according to Hawaii State Civil Defense, which issued a tsunami warning.

Honolulu is planning for several contingencies, because it is not certain how large the waves could be and where they may rush inland, Mayor Peter Carlisle told CNN.

"It is a very difficult situation to confront," Carlisle said.

Hawaiian Public Radio news director Bill Dorman told CNN some roads were closed as a precaution. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said he expected the waves to first strike the island of Kauai.

Honolulu Department of Emergency Management spokesman John M. Cummings III said authorities were taking the warning "very, very seriously." "Anyone in the shoreline areas should get out now," Cummings said.

Warning sirens have been ringing every hour in Hawaii since they began 10 p.m. local time.

The Los Angeles Times reported: "Pacific Tsunami Warning Center officials warned that 'urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property. Tsunami waves effectively wrap around islands. All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face.'"

At least 50 countries have issued tsunami warnings.

The tsunami is expected to hit various locations up and down the West Coast on Friday morning. Fox News reported Orange County is closing its beach at 5 a.m. local time in preparation.

According to Fox News: "At roughly 8 a.m. ET – automated calls will be going into the homes along the beach communities where officials anticipate some impact from the tsunami.

"Officials tell Fox News, they anticipate a surge in Orange County of about two feet."

Fox News also reported that fire officials in Los Angeles County told them they are not going to close the local area beaches and do not expect any evacuations.

Japanese Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 1,300

By Helena Zhu
Epoch Times Staff Created: Mar 12, 2011 Last Updated: Mar 12, 2011

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A soldier carries an elderly man on his back to a shelter in Natori city, Miyagi prefecture on March 12. Authorities warned a meltdown may be under way at a nuclear plant after a monster tsunami devastated a swathe of northeast Japan. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A day after Japan’s strongest earthquake on record hit the island nation’s east coast on Friday afternoon, the death toll has reached 1,300.

The magnitude 8.9 earthquake and ensuing aftershocks collapsed buildings, ignited fires, cut out electricity, shut down airports and trains, and unleashed a tsunami that swept boats, and houses miles inland. But that is only the beginning.

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that a reactor in the Dai-Ichi power plant in Fukushima may be starting to melt down. The government ordered residents within 6 miles (10 km) to evacuate immediately.

“If the fuel rods are melting and this continues, a reactor meltdown is possible,” Yuji Kakizaki, an agency spokesman, told Bloomberg after cesium, a radioactive material left by atomic fission, was detected around the Dai-Ichi No. 1 reactor.

More than 700 people are reported missing, and an estimated 4,000 are stuck in evacuation centers in Sendai on Honshu island, 80 miles west of the epicenter. Without food, water, or heat, those at evacuation centers are waiting for helicopter rescue.

Throughout the country, 77,300 people are in 594 evacuation centers in 40 municipalities.

Australian researcher Dr. Qiwen Yao was at work at the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Ibaraki when the earthquake shook at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:45 a.m. EST). At 203 miles away from the epicenter, Yao lost his electricity and phone connection just minutes after the shake.

“The building started shaking and it was not easy to find balance because of the earthquake,” Yao recounted in a phone interview on Saturday morning. “Many people came out from the building, and later on we found that laboratory equipments have fallen everywhere.”

There have been at least 154 aftershocks, mainly off the east coast, at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12. Dave Applegate, a senior adviser at the U.S. Geological Survey said that the aftershocks will continue for “not just days, weeks, but months and potentially years,” Bloomberg reported.

“After the earthquake, aftershocks have been happening every few minutes,” said Yao. “The earth had been shaking until early this morning, the frequency has gradually slowed down since then. It has almost calm down by now, but there is no electricity and it is dark everywhere except a few buildings that have backup power.”

As of 7 p.m. Saturday, eight people are dead in Tsukuba, four are suffering from cardiopulmonary arrest, and 13 are severely injured. Across the city, 26 houses were destroyed, six partially wrecked, 1,400 are slightly damaged, and 2,004 are partially under water, according to the government of Tsukuba's website.

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A map showing the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that shook Japan on March 10 (yellow) and the series of aftershocks (red). (USGS)

Prior to the earthquake, Yao and his colleagues were trained to evacuate to a nearby primary school for temporary refuge. For Yao, the well-built Japanese schools were a sharp contrast to the schools that collapsed instantly when a magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan, China, in 2008.

“Yesterday afternoon when I walked passed the primary school, it made me think of the earthquake that happened in China," he said. "What happened was that primary school buildings were the first to fall down, and the government buildings did not fall down. But here in Japan, primary schools are made the strongest. … there’s an interesting contrast there.”

At least 87,587 people were killed and 374,177 were injured in the Sichuan earthquake. An estimated 5.36 million buildings collapsed, and more than 21 million buildings were damaged in Sichuan, according to USGS. Many Chinese parents protested for months after finding their children buried under poorly built schools.

Yao, who arrived in Japan for work last September, said he has never seen “anything like this before.” Although in Japan earthquakes normally happen every few weeks they are generally weak. “This time it is happening more frequently and stronger," he said.

Right after the earthquake took place on Friday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan established an emergency headquarters in response to the disaster.

“The government will make every possible effort to ensure the safety of the public and keep damage to the minimum possible extent,” Kan said in an official statement. “I extend my heartfelt sympathy to those who have suffered.”

After coming back from an inspection of the devastated area around Sendai, Kan said he would mobilize 50,000 Self Defense Force personnel to aid the relief effort.

After waking up to the news on the other side of the globe, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sent their “deepest condolences” to the Japanese, “particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis.”

“Today’s events remind us of just how fragile life can be," said Obama in a press conference. "Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan and across the region and we’re going to stand with them as they recover and rebuild from this tragedy."

The U.S. Agency for International Development deployed two Urban Search and Rescue teams on Friday at the request of the Japanese government. The teams consist of 70 cross-trained personnel using sniffer dogs, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Nuclear power plant in Japan explodes 2011/03/13 20:09:40

One major aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan was the explosion of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Honshu Saturday afternoon in which three people were injured. All major Taiwanese newspapers covered the event extensively, as Taiwan itself has three operating nuclear power plants and is building a fourth and is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The following are excerpts of local media coverage of the incident: China Times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZKlaEZMLY  BIDEO OF EXPLOSION Experts were worried the explosion and the leaking of radioactive substances from the Japanese nuclear power plant could be the first evidence of a "nuclear meltdown." Three people were confirmed injured in the incident and nearly 100 were suspected of having been contaminated by radiation. The Japanese prime minister has ordered an evacuation of 80,000 people living nearby. Iodine has been distributed to local residents to help block the absorption of radioactive substances. Power plant workers injected cooling water into the No. 1 reactor but the water level kept falling, leaving the container of the fuel rod 1.7 meters above the cooling water. But a Tokyo university professor said the reactor had stopped operating and there was no need for panic. However, Japanese media reported that the radioactive leakage might have contaminated as many as 190 people, including 90 who were working at the site of the explosion and scores of others at a nearby high school campus. The Japanese government said the explosion was caused by the collapse of walls in the power plant, not the destruction of the "safety shell" or container of the nuclear reactors. It gave assurances that radioactive substances would not leak in great amounts. The government advised people living in the area to shut their windows and not use air conditioners or expose their skin when dressing. People were also told to eat only food that had been thoroughly cleaned. Could the leaked radiation reach Taiwan? Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said the prevailing wind from Japan was westerly, and polluted air particles were mostly traveling east, meaning it would be "very difficult" for radioactive fallout to reach Taiwan. The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) noted that radioactivity would decrease over the long distance from Japan to Taiwan, so even if the polluted particles flew over Taiwan, the hazard would be minimal. As to the safety of Taiwan's three nuclear power plants that are in operation, Taiwan Power Co.'s Deputy General Manager Huang Hsien-chang said they were designed to resist magnitude 7.0 earthquakes. When the earthquake hit Japan, the company immediately asked all three to launch security measures by erecting their tidal wave-resisting gates, Huang said. AEC Deputy Minister Shieh Der-jhy said Taiwan's nuclear power plants were built to resist tsunamis that were up to 12 meters high. The latest tsunami that hit the Tokyo area brought 10-meter high waves -- a level that should not cause a hazard to Taiwan's three nuclear power plants, he said. But some environmental activists and

But some environmental activists and academics said the first and second nuclear power plants have been confirmed to be lying on or near seismic faults, and if tremors of similar magnitudes were to hit Taiwan, they feared a much worse disaster might ensue. (March 13, 2011)

The Liberty Times:

The AEC said Fukushima's radioactive particles could reach Taiwan tonight (Sunday night) , and the Central Weather Bureau advised the public to wear hats or use umbrellas when going out to keep themselves from being exposed to raindrops with radioactive material.

AEC Deputy Minister Shieh Der-jhy said the concentration of radiation needed to be 200 mSv/hr or higher to have an impact on humans. The radioactive level his council was able to monitor was 0.05 mSv/hr, lower than the usual 0.1-0.2 mSv/hr.

Japanese and Russian scholars said the current incident, being listed by Japan as "grade 4, " will not evolve into a Chernobyl-scale calamity.

Unless a nuclear meltdown occurs, leading to serious radiation leaks, according to experts, there should not be concerns that local people have been exposed to long-term cancer risks.

In Taiwan, people were worried about what would happen if a similar incident happened to Taiwan's nuclear power plants.

Professor Lee Min of National Tsinghua University said no one can guarantee a risk-free design and building of a nuclear power plant since "some unpredictable accidents could outweigh the safety standards."

Taiwan Power Co. said Taiwan's nuclear power plants operate fourth-generation boiling water reactors that are more advanced than the third-generation ones used in the Fukushima plants.

Moreover, Taipower said, each of Taiwan's nuclear power plants are equipped with additional emergency generators that could immediately be activated to power the cooling systems, "increasing their reliability at least 10 times."

Shieh said that if international safety standards are updated in the wake of Japan's Fukushima incident, "we will follow."

As to the fourth nuclear power plant, he said its design "should be OK, " and the screening of Taipower's application to extend the operations of the three active plants was continuing. (March 13, 2011)

The United Daily News:

The AEC said it would update its monitor reports on radioactivity in Taiwan every five minutes and alert the people to seek cover or evacuate when radioactivity reached 20 mSv/hr.

Taipower executives said the fallout from Japan should not have a direct impact on Taiwan as radioactive levels would decrease after being diluted in the air. "But the fallout may pollute land or crops," they said.

The Green Citizens' Action Alliance and other environmental groups, including the Green Party, pointed out that all four nuclear power plants in Taiwan were located near seismic faults and the fourth was within 80 kilometers of an active volcano under sea.

"The authorities did not conduct a thorough geological survey before choosing the sites for building nuclear power plants. Once a strong quake hits, the consequences could be beyond our imagination," said the alliance. (March 13, 2011)

(By S.C. Chang)

17 NAVY PERSONNEL CONTAMINATED BY RADIATION
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14military.html?ref=asia

3-15-11 -  FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Workers at a quake-damaged atomic power
plant suspended operations and evacuated Wednesday after a
surge in radiation made it too dangerous to remain there, dealing a
setback to Japan’s frantic efforts to stem a nuclear crisis.

"All the workers there have suspended their operations. We have
urged them to evacuate, and they have," Japan's chief cabinet
secretary, Yukio Edano said, according to a translation by NHK
television.
Edano said that a surge in radiation Wednesday morning meant
workers were unable to continue even minimal efforts at the stricken
nuclear plant.
About 45 minutes later, though, radiation levels near the plant came
back down, he said. It's possible that evaporation from reactor No.
3 may have caused the temporary surge, Edano said, although that
can't be immediately confirmed.The cabinet secretary added that
there was no need to broaden the overall evacuation radius around
the nuclear complex.

RADUATUIB NAO 0 3017011

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