Fears of massive death toll, Japan earthquake and tsunami

Japan earthquake and tsunami: Fears of massive death toll

 

• Towns burn furiously as devastation continues into the night
• Magnitude 6.6 aftershock causes buildings in Tokyo to sway
  
• Death toll expected to exceed 1,000 with many more injured
• Ship carrying 100 passengers swept away by tsunami
• Four million people without power in Tokyo alone
  

More than 1,000 people are feared to have died after the sixth largest earthquake in recorded history devastated Japan today.

The massive earthquake - 8,000 times stronger than the one that hit New Zealand last month - sent a catastrophic 33 foot tsunami hurtling across the Pacific Ocean.

Thousands of people were also forced to flee for their lives as the wall of water bore down on them, sweeping away everything in its path.

Alight: As night fell across the country, the fires gave the sky an orange glow as they continued to burn among the rubble of destroyed buildings

White hot: Two fires glow like molten lava amid the devastated houses in Yamada town

Tonight, huge fires burned unabated across large parts of the country as damaged oil refineries and gas works billowed black smoke into the sky.

Half the country was understood to be without power, with four million homes in Tokyo alone being cut off, while the army has been deployed to the quake-hit areas to help relief efforts.

However those relief efforts were hampered by a number of aftershocks, including a 6.6 magnitude tremor which hit Tokyo and caused already damaged buildings to shake further.

Elsewhere, two high-speed bullet trains were missing alongside a cruise ship carrying 100 passengers that was swept away when the wave hit. One of the trains was reported to be carrying 400 passengers.

A state of emergency was declared at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima after the 8.9 quake caused the cooling system to fail.

Tonight, the Japanese government confirmed that they would release radioactive vapor to ease high pressure that had built up inside the reactor.

Billowing: A plume of black smoke fills the sky as a huge fire burns at the oil refinery at Chilba City

Stranded: Hundreds of people were forced to make themselves at home on the floor of the Haneda Airport following the earthquake and tsunami

 

Split down the middle: Workers inspect a section of road that was torn in half by the force of the earthquake

Between 200 and 300 bodies have been found in Sendai city, while another 151 were confirmed killed, with 547 missing. Police also said 798 people were injured.

Hundreds of Britons are believed to be in the country. Many have spoken of the terrifying moment that the quake struck.

With the death toll rising, it is feared thousands more are at risk as the true scale of the devastation becomes apparent.

Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people in Miyagi, burned furiously into the night with no apparent hope of being extinguished, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said.

Tsunami warnings were also issued across the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.

Terrifying: The tsunami slams into the shoreline along Iwanuma in northern Japan after the 8.9 earthquake struck today

Overwhelmed: The tsunami engulfs a residential area in Natori, Miyagi

Hawaii and a number of low-lying islands including Guam were hit by the waves while The Red Cross has warned that the tsunami is higher than many of the islands themselves.

The first waves hit the island of Kauai at around 3.15am local time as the repercussions of the earthquake ripped through the ocean.

Kahului, on the island of Maui, has been worst hit. It was struck by waves measuring at least eight feet.