Videos: Deadly Tsunami Slams Japan After Massive 8.9 Magnitude Quake; At Least 60 Killed

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japan-quake-tsunami[Multiple videos below.] Updated: A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan’s eastern coast today, killing at least 60 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 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter.

“The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan,” Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Japan had closed four nuclear power plants as a precaution. A state of emergency was declared at one of the plants after its cooling system had a mechanical failure. Thousands of residents around the plant were ordered to evacuate. Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at any.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the emergency measure at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was a precaution and that the facility was not in immediate danger.

Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles inland before retreating. The apocalyptic images of surging water broadcast by Japanese TV networks resembled scenes from a Hollywood disaster movie.

Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them and snapping power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other.

The highways to the worst-hit coastal areas were severely damaged and communications, including telephone lines, were snapped. Train services in northeastern Japan and in Tokyo, which normally serve 10 million people a day, were also suspended, leaving untold numbers stranded in stations or roaming the streets. Tokyo’s Narita airport was closed indefinitely.

Matt Alt, an American living in Tokyo, told “The Early Show” on Friday morning that the quake lasted less than a minute, “but it felt a lot longer than that.”

Alt and his wife rushed out of their home as the temblor struck. “The undulation of the Earth was so powerful we had to hang onto the outside of our house,” he told CBS News. “This was nothing like I’ve ever experienced.”

Adam Ezard, a British expat, said he and his colleagues rushed out of their office building with each powerful aftershock. Ezard and other witnesses said telephone lines were down or overloaded and attempts to reach loved ones were unsuccessful.

Jesse Johnson, a native of the U.S. state of Nevada, who lives in Chiba, north of Tokyo, was eating at a sushi restaurant with his wife when the quake hit.

“At first it didn’t feel unusual, but then it went on and on. So I got myself and my wife under the table,” he told The Associated Press. “I’ve lived in Japan for 10 years and I’ve never felt anything like this before. The aftershocks keep coming. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t know whether it’s me shaking or an earthquake.”

Waves of muddy waters flowed over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some on fire, inland as cars attempted to drive away. Sendai airport, north of Tokyo, was inundated with cars, trucks, buses and thick mud deposited over its runways. Fires spread through a section of the city, public broadcaster NHK reported.

More than 300 houses were washed away in Ofunato City alone. Television footage showed mangled debris, uprooted trees, upturned cars and shattered timber littering streets.

The tsunami roared over embankments, washing anything in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas pipes.

“Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous damage,” Edano said. “We will make maximum relief effort based on that assessment.”

He said the Defense Ministry was sending troops to the quake-hit region. A utility aircraft and several helicopters were on the way.

Click below for videos:


{CBS News/NBC/Matzav.com Newscenter}


10 COMMENTS

  1. Rabboisai.

    1. HKBH doesen’t forget Tsunami..Boys in Japan
    2. Earthquakes New Zealand wanting to stop Schitah
    3. Volcano in Iceland stopping air travel in Europe Because of Schita and putting out a directive not to travel to Eretz Yisroel
    4.And to the president of Iran Mr. Pajamahead.
    your next on the list ‘Bekorov’
    5. HKBH is showing us who’s in charge…Wake up Moshiach is knocking on the door
    OPEN IT

  2. If they know what’s good for them they better release those boys from Bnai Brak soon or the next “hint” from Shamayim will be even more explicit!!

  3. you are fools. we have no way to know why HKBH acts in certain ways. Learn the Rambam.
    Why isn’t there a set up on Matzav where we can donate for the victims of the Tsunami. Make a kiddush Hashem and set something up please.

  4. Don’t fool yourselves Yiden!!!

    Japan has treated the Israeli bachurim with the same strictness they treat their own and everyone else for comparable crimes. Hence, don’t blame the Japanese for the trouble the bachurim got themselves into. The Chafetz Chaim said, based on Chaza”l, that such natural disasters are brought to awaken Yiden to do tshuvah. Hence, it is us, not the Japanese, the Russians, or Obamala.

  5. i totally agree with #7

    Every time a tragedy strikes the-world, country or your Town R”L- Hashem has one question for everyone. is this a coincidence or is it a straight sign from Hashem that its time for klal yisroel to wake up & do Teshuva? thats what each person needs to ask him/herself when a tragedy strikes R”L.

    PAST SIGNS FROM HASHEM:Do you know that 9/11 is our sad day for over 2000 years? ???? ???, 9 is ???? Av is 11 ???? is 12 & ???? is 1, what about the phone number 911, thats Americas emergency number for a minimum of 50 to 100 years thats also ???? ???.
    6 month’s before the disengagement from Gaza in Israel the Radios & Newspapers said its going to be somewhere in August. 2 months before they said its going to be August 14 or 15, thats when i looked on my ??? calender & saw that August 14th this year is ???? ???. How does that grab you?.

  6. Can people use their sechel in commenting on Japan? Anything remotely incendiary against the government will NOT help the boys.

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