Hundreds perish in 8.9 Japan quake Tsunami sweeps across Pacific

TOKYO, March 11, (Agencies): A devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan looked set to kill at least 1,000 people along the northeastern coast on Friday after a wall of water swept away everything in its path.
Thousands of residents were evacuated from an area around a nuclear plant after radiation levels rose in the reactor, but there was no word on whether there had actually been a leak.
Underscoring grave concerns about the Fukushima plant some 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US air force had delivered coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of the facility’s nuclear rods.
The unfolding disaster in the wake of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 10-metre (33-feet) high tsunami prompted offers of help from dozens of countries.
China said rescuers were ready to help with quake relief while President Barack Obama told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan the United State would assist in any way.

Houses are shown in flames while the Natori river floods over the surrounding area by the tsunami tidal waves in Natori
city, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, March 11. (AP)

Stunning TV footage showed a muddy torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near the coastal city of Sendai, home to one million people and which lies 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbour wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side.
Boats, cars and trucks were 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. Japanese politicians pushed for an emergency budget to fund relief efforts after Kan asked them to “save the country”, Kyodo news agency reported. Japan is already the most heavily indebted major economy in the world, meaning any funding efforts would be closely scrutinised by financial markets.
Domestic media said the death toll was expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned.
The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.

In this image made off Japan’s NHK TV video footage, houses are washed away by tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
(state) eastern Japan. (AP)

Tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific but were later lifted for some of the most populated countries in the region, including Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand.
Even in a nation accustomed to earthquakes, the devastation was shocking.
“A big area of Sendai city near the coast, is flooded. We are hearing that people who were evacuated are stranded,” said Rie Sugimoto, a reporter for NHK television in Sendai.
“About 140 people, including children, were rushed to an elementary school and are on the rooftop but they are surrounded by water and have nowhere else to go.”
Japan has prided itself on its speedy tsunami warning system, which has been upgraded several times since its inception in 1952, including after a 7.8 magnitude quake triggered a 30-metre high wave before a warning was given.
The country has also built countless breakwaters and floodgates to protect ports and coastal areas, although experts said they might not have been enough to prevent disasters such as what happened on Friday.

Flames rise from houses and debris half submerged in tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (state). (AP)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told people to stay in safe places as the cold deepened into the night. “Please help each other and act calmly,” he told a news conference.
In Tokyo, residents who had earlier fled swaying buildings jammed the streets trying to make their way home after much of the city’s public transportation was halted.
Many subways in Tokyo later resumed operation but trains did not run. People who decided not to walk home slept in office buildings.
“I was unable stay on my feet because of the violent shaking. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Then the tsunamis came when we tried to run for cover. It was the strongest quake I experienced,” a woman with a baby on her back told television in northern Japan.

The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo said.
Other Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down and one refinery was ablaze. Television footage showed an intense fire in the waterfront area near Sendai.
Auto plants, electronics factories and refineries shut, roads buckled and power to millions of homes and businesses was knocked out. Several airports, including Tokyo’s Narita, were closed and rail services halted. All ports were shut.
The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.
The disaster occurred as the world’s third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. The disaster raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.
The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves which struck Asia in 2004.

Pacific
Warnings were issued for countries to the west of Japan and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru, but the tsunami dissipated as it sped across the ocean and worst fears in the Americas were not realised.
The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.
“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 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.

Cable
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent Friday a cable of condolences to Emperor of Japan Akihito. HH expressed deepest sympathies for families of the victims who died in the devastating earthquake.
The Amir in his cable also said that he shares the feelings of grief by the Emperor and Japanese people toward such natural disaster, hoping that Japan will overcome the repercussions of such tragedy, and wishing speedy recovery for the injured.
HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a similar cable to the emperor.
HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of condolences to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah also expressed sorrow over the casualties of the earthquake.
Sheikh Ahmad, also Minister of State for Development Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs, extended heart-felt condolences to the Japanese people for their lost ones.
Also, and in his capacity as Chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Sheikh Ahmad reiterated support of the council for the sport society in Japan.
In this regard, Sheikh Ahmad said that an ad hoc committee; headed by Prince Faisal Bin Al-Hussein, will work to assess damages resulting from the natural disaster, as well as following latest developments in order to determine what the council can offer.

Sheikh Ahmad reaffirmed that OCA will undertake the reconstruction of sport installations in Japan.
Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah sent a cable of condolences to his Japanese counterpart Takeaki Matsumoto over casualties of the earthquake.
Sheikh Dr Mohammad, in the cable, expressed “grief” over devastation the quake has left behind, voicing at the same time his confidence in Japan’s ability to overcome impacts of the disaster. He also hoped for security and stability to prevail in the friendly country.
Meanwhile, there has been no reports of injuries among Kuwaiti citizens in Japan so far from the earthquake, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi said.
“The embassy is trying to reach Kuwaiti nationals registered in Japan around the clock, but communications were constantly cut in Tokyo. However, we have not received any reports of injuries among Kuwaiti citizens in Japan, including students, and I hope they are all safe and in good health, Al-Otaibi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). All Kuwaiti diplomats are safe.” The ambassador also said Kuwaiti citizens traveling in Japan are strongly encouraged to notify the embassy about their whereabouts and contact numbers.

Aid
His His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah instructed Friday that urgent humanitarian aid be dispatched to help those affected by the massive earthquake.
Upon Sheikh Sabah’s instructions, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRSC) will be responsible for sending the humanitarian assistance, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Japan has requested a limited number of foreign search and rescue teams to help with the aftermath of its major earthquake and tsunami, the United Nations said on Friday.
More than 68 search and rescue teams from 45 countries have offered aid to Japan, which was hit by the earthquake and tsunami on Friday in the northeast, it said.
“Japan has requested international search and rescue teams, but only a handful,” Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in Geneva.
At least four teams had been requested — from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States, Byrs said. Japan’s request was made before a strong quake with preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck northwestern Japan early on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday to offer to help “in any way possible”, the Japanese Jiji agency reported.

“The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial ... The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakeable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy,” Obama said in a statement.
The US Air Force flew coolant to the Fukushima nuclear plant to help deal with a potentially dangerous breakdown of the cooling system, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy also voiced solidarity. The European Union said Japan had requested search and rescue teams and search dogs.
“Europe’s civil protection system has been fully mobilised to help Japan overcome this immense tragedy,” said Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian aid and Crisis Response.
The Russian emergency services agency ERMACOM offered 40 people with three sniffer dogs, while Singapore had civil defence forces on standby and Poland offered firefighters.
China and Switzerland also offered rescue teams, while Britain, France and others said they were ready to offer whatever help was required.

“The world is shocked and saddened by the images coming out of Japan this morning,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York. “We will do anything and everything we can at this very difficult time.”
The biggest earthquake to hit Japan since records began rocked its northeast coast, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that was expected to kill at least 1,000 people.
The tsunami was initially said by the Red Cross to be higher than some of the Pacific islands that it could hit, but the agency later said that evacuations in many coastal areas in the vast Pacific rim, including the Philippines, had been efficient.
“Major concerns about the potential destruction that the tsunami could cause is abating, but we cannot be complacent until the situation is clearer,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.

“Lessons learnt from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami are being put into practice,” said the Federation, the world’s largest disaster relief network.
Poorer nations were deemed a greater risk than Japan from the wall of water, though many have beefed up early warning systems and evacuation plans since the 2004 tsunami.
The Federation said it would take about 24 hours from the time the initial quake struck for the tsunami danger to pass.
Its regional logistics hub was on standby to provide 20,000 tents and other relief items to the Japanese Red Cross.
Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was working closely with the Japanese Red Cross and had launched a special “Family Links” website to help people seeking to re-establish contact with family members and friends. The website is at http://www.icrc.org/eng/familylinks-japan.
More than 226,000 people were killed in the 2004 tsunami, which affected 13 Asian countries around the Indian Ocean and led to a huge international aid programme.

Ranks
The massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan Friday ranks as the fifth largest in the world since 1900, scientists said.
The magnitude-8.9 “megathrust” quake is similar to what happened during the 2004 Sumatra quake that spawned a killer tsunami and the earthquake last year in Chile. In all these cases, one tectonic plate is shoved beneath another.
Such earthquakes are responsible for the most powerful shifts in the Earth’s crust.
Japan is at particular risk, sitting in the “Ring of Fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world’s quakes occur.
“The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month’s worth of energy consumption” in the United States, said US Geological Survey scientist Brian Atwater.
More than 80 aftershocks greater than magnitude-5 have been felt since the Japanese rupture — a number that scientists say is normal for a quake this size.
USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said a friend who was in Tokyo for a tsunami planning meeting noted the shaking after the initial shock lasted for about five minutes.
Scientists said the quake erupted 6 miles (10 kms) below the ocean and about 80 miles (130 kms) off Japan’s eastern coast. It caused a 186 miles (300 kms) rupture in the sea floor, said USGS geophysicist Paul Earle.
The rupture triggered deadly tsunami waves that washed away homes and boats along coastal Japan. Waves rippled across the Pacific, but so far had caused little damage in Hawaii. Alerts were posted even to the west coast of the United States.
Two days earlier, the region was rattled by a magnitude-7.2 quake that scientists now consider a foreshock. Foreshocks are basically earthquakes and are only identified as precursors after another quake follows them. After such an event, there’s only a 5 percent chance of an even bigger quake coming later.
“This was one of the rare instances where a big earthquake is followed by a bigger earthquake,” said USGS geophysicist Doug Given.
Japan’s worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in 1923 in Kanto that killed 143,000 people, according to the USGS. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe in 1995 killed 6,400 people.