Tokyo: The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-meter tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire, media and witnesses said.
According to the initial reports, at least 22 people have died in the tragedy. The 8.9 magnitude quake caused many injuries, public broadcaster NHK said, sparked fires and the wall of water, prompting warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas.
The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for countries as far away as Colombia and Peru.
Worst earthquake in 140 years hits Japan
There were several strong aftershocks. In the capital Tokyo, buildings shook violently. An oil refinery near Tokyo was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.
“I was terrified and I’m still frightened,” said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo’s Akasaka area. “I’ve never experienced such a big quake before.”
TV pictures showed the tsunami carrying the debris and fires across a large swathe of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. The pictures suggested the death toll was going to rise.
NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.
Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama’s Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.
Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport.
The western prefecture of Wakayama ordered 20,000 people to evacuate after further tsunami warnings.
“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.”
It surpasses the Great Kanto quake of September 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9, killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.
Seismologists had said another such quake could strike the city any time.
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.
Widespread tsunami warning after Japan quake
A tsunami warning has been issued for the entire Pacific basin, except for the mainland United States and Canada, following a huge earthquake that hit Japan on Friday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
It said that among the countries for which a tsunami warning is in effect are: Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.
The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-meter tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses and cars.
By 8:00 am GMT there had been no reports of a serious tsunami hitting anywhere beyond Japan.
“A tsunami is a series of waves and the first wave may not be the largest,” the center said. “The threat can continue for many hours as multiple waves arrive.”
Some Japanese plants shut after quake
Some Japanese nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down on Friday and a major steel plant was ablaze after a powerful earthquake rocked the country, triggering tsunami, buckling roads, and knocking out power to homes and businesses.
Electronics giant Sony Corp, one of the country’s biggest exporters, shut six factories, Kyodo news agency reported, as air force jets raced toward the northeast coast to determine the extent of the damage from the 8.9 magnitude quake.
The Bank of Japan, which has been struggling to boost the anemic economy, said it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability as the yen and Japanese shares fell.
“There are car and semiconductor factories in northern Japan, so there will be some economic impact due to damage to factories,” said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute in Tokyo.
Japanese media reported at least five deaths and many injuries, with fires breaking out from Sendai city in northern Japan to Tokyo. A tsunami 10 meters high hit Sendai port but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The Miyagi prefecture and surrounding areas include major manufacturing and industrial zones, with many chemical, petrochemical and electronics plants.
Television showed black smoke pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama’s Isogo area. Two people were reported killed by a collapsing ceiling at a Honda factory in Tochigi Prefecture but no other details were immediately available.
Several airports, including Tokyo’s Narita, were closed and rail services were halted.
The yen extended earlier losses to stand 0.3 percent lower against the dollar by 8:00 am GMT, while Nikkei stock futures fell more than 3 percent.
“Stocks will probably fall on Monday, especially of those companies, that have factories in the affected areas, but on the whole the sell-off will likely be short-lived,” said Mitsuhsige Akino, a fund manager at IchiyoshiInvestment Management.
Bond futures surged on worries the widespread damage would put further pressure on the already sputtering economy, while the most active gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, February 2012, inched higher.
“We still don’t know the full scale of the damage, but considering what happened after the earthquake in Kobe, this will certainly lead the government to compile an emergency budget. We can expect consumption to fall. This could temporarily pull down gross domestic product,” Yamamoto said.
Hokuriku Electric Co said on Friday all of three reactors at its Onagawa nuclear plant in northern Japan shut down automatically after the quake, but no nuclear leaks were reported.
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, Japan’s top refiner, halted operations at three refineries in Sendai, Kashima and Negishi, Jiji News said.
Electric Power Development (J-Power) also halted operations of its Isogo thermal power plant in Yokohama, Jiji reported.
Television reported a major fire at Cosmo Oil Co’s Chiba refinery, east of Tokyo.
A fire was also reported at JFE Holdings Inc’s steel plant in Chiba. JFE is the world’s fifth-largest steelmaker.
After shrinking slightly in the final quarter of last year Japan’s economy had been widely expected to resume growth early in 2011 as exports and industrial production picked up, but the quake raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses at least in the short term.
“The government would have to sell more bonds, but this is an emergency, so this can’t be avoided,” Yamamoto said.
“Given where the Bank of Japan’s benchmark interest rate is now, they can’t really lower rates. The BOJ will focus on providing liquidity, possibly by expanding market operations.” CCN