Massive tsunami devastates Japan

Tsunami devastates northeast Japan after massive earthquake

  

A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, killing at least 360 people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.
The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.
Police said at least 60 people were killed and 56 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

 




Dozens of cities and villages along a 2,100-kilometre stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of kilometers from the epicentre.
“The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan,'' Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.