A screen grab taken from news footage by Japanese Government broadcaster NHK on March 11, 2011 shows cars on a flooded street following an earthquake-triggered tsumani in Miyagi prefecture. -- PHOTO AFP/ HO / NHKTOKYO - THE Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii says a tsunami warning is in effect for a large swath of the Pacific after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Japan.
A tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and US state of Hawaii.
An earlier report had put the quake at 7.9. Numerous injuries were reported by police in Japan's Miyagi prefecture.
Japan's NHK says a small tsunami hit the shore near the epicentre around 3pm local time (2pm Singapore time). The public broadcaster showed black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted. Television showed cars bobbing in water along side fishing boats.
Japan's meteorological agency warns that a tsunami as high as 6m could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture, closest to the epicentre.
The agency says the quake struck at 2.46pm on Friday (1.46pm Singapore time) at a depth of 10km, about 125km off the eastern coast.
'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.
'It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago.' -- AP, AFP, REUTERS
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar