Japan earthquake - Friday 11 March part one

• 8.9 magnitude earthquake hits Japan, numerous aftershocks

• 10m tsunami in northern port of Sendai
• Japan declares emergency at nuclear plant
• Tsunami warnings for many other countries
• Japanese PM calls for "spirit of fraternity"
• Death toll rising
7.22am: Japan has been rocked by a series of earthquakes causing a major Tsunami. Here's some
details from our Japan correspondent, Justin McCurry:

A series of powerful earthquakes struck north-east Japan on Friday afternoon, triggering warnings of
tsunami as high as 10 metres and shaking buildings in Tokyo.

The first earthquake struck at 2:46pm local time and measured magnitude-8.8, according to the US
geological survey. Within 30 minutes the same region was rocked by two more big quakes of slightly
lower intensity, Japanese news reports said.

The first quake, Japan's biggest for seven years, struck at a depth of six miles about 80 miles of the
eastern coast, according to Japan's meteorological agency.

The Pacific tsunami warning centre in Hawaii said 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 Hawaii.

All flights in Japan were grounded immediately after the quake while officials checked for runway
damage. Strong tremors were felt in Tokyo about 30 minutes after the quake. Newsreaders in the
capital wore helmets as they gave updates, while office workers rushed out of buildings on to the
street.

Television showed a building on fire in the Odaiba district of Tokyo, although it was not immediately
clear if the blaze was connected to the earthquake.

Other footage showed water levels rising quickly in the coastal town of Miyako in Iwate prefecture on
Japan's north-east Pacific coast. Public broadcaster NHK showed cars, trucks, houses and buildings
being swept away by tsunami in Onahama city in Fukushima prefecture. 

TV news presenters repeatedly warned people on the Pacific coast to head for higher ground.

7.26am: Al-Jazeera is streaming live coverage of the events in Japan.

7.35am: A 10 metre tsunami has hit the port of Sendai in north Japan, Reuters is reporting.

Some other developments:

• There are reports of injuries in Tokyo. Officials are trying to assess damage, injuries and deaths
from the quake but had no immediate details.

• 4 million people are without electricity in Tokyo

• The Nikkei average closed down 1.7% at 10,254 points – a five-week low.

• The yen dropped to as low as around 83.29 yen to the dollar, compared with 82.80 yen before the
quake struck.
7.39am: The Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan has just been addressing a press conference. He
urged people to help their neighbours and act to "minimise the damage":

We ask the people of Japan to exercise the spirit of fraternity, help each other and act fast.

7.47am: One person is reported confirmed dead in the northern port of Sendai, the BBC is reporting.
That is the first person confirmed killed by the natural disaster.
7.58am: The US Geological Survey has upgraded the earthquake to 8.9 magnitude. It has also
recorded eight other earthquakes, ranging between 5.8 and 7.1.

Screengrab from
www.earthquake.usgs.gov
To give an idea of the strength of the quake. The earthquake which struck Chile last year was 8.8
magnitude. More than 700 people were killed, An estimated 500,000 Chilean residential buildings
were severely damaged in the quake, and the cost of the damage was estimated to be $25-$30bn
(£10-£12bn).
The Kobe earthquake, in Japan, in 1995 measured 7.2 and killed 6,433 people. The cost of repair
was estimated at $100bn.
8.04am: More from Japanese prime minister Kan. He extended his "deepest sympathies" to the
victims of the earthquake. He also offered some reassurance about Japan's nuclear facilities. He
said:

Some of the nuclear power plants have stopped automatically but so far no radioactive material has
been confirmed to have been leaked to the outside.

8.13am: Reuters has a useful summary of events:

Damage and effects

In Tarō district, Miyako, Iwate, search-and-rescue activities are visible amidst the debris left by the tsunami.

The degree and extent of damage caused by the earthquake and resulting tsunami were enormous, with
most of the damage being caused by the tsunami. Video footage of the towns worst affected shows little
more than piles of rubble, with almost no parts of any structures left standing. [156] Estimates of the cost of
the damage range well into the tens of billions of US dollars; before-and-after satellite photographs of
devastated regions show immense damage to many regions. [157][158] Although Japan has invested the
equivalent of billions of dollars on anti-tsunami seawalls which line at least 40% of its 34,751 km
(21,593 mi) coastline and stand up to 12 m (39 ft) high, the tsunami simply washed over the top of some
seawalls, collapsing some in the process.[159]

Japan's National Police Agency said on 3 April 2011, that 190,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged
by the quake and tsunami. Of those, 45,700 were destroyed. The damaged buildings included 29,500
structures in Miyagi Prefecture, 12,500 in Iwate Prefecture and 2,400 in Fukushima Prefecture. [160] The
earthquake and tsunami created an estimated 25 million tons of rubble and debris in Japan. [161]

Nuclear power plants

Further information: 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents

The Fukushima I, Fukushima II, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant and Tōkai nuclear power stations,

consisting of a total eleven reactors, were automatically shut down following the earthquake.
[162]
 Higashidōri, also on the northeast coast, was already shut down for a periodic inspection. Cooling is
needed to remove decay heat after a reactor has been shut down, and to maintain spent fuel pools. The
backup cooling process is powered by emergency diesel generators at the plants and at Rokkasho
nuclear reprocessing plant.[163] At Fukushima I and II tsunami waves overtopped seawalls and destroyed
diesel backup power systems, leading to severe problems at Fukushima I, including two large explosions
and radioactive leakage. Over 200,000 people were evacuated. [164]

The April 7 aftershock caused the loss of external power to Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant and
Higashidori Nuclear Power Plant but backup generators were functional. Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant
lost 3 of 4 external power lines and lost cooling function for as much as 80 minutes. A spill of a couple
liters of radioactive water occurred at Onagawa.[165]

Europe's Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger addressed the European Parliament on 15 March,

explaining that the nuclear disaster an "apocalypse". [166] As the nuclear crisis entered a second month,
experts recognized that Fukushima is not the worst nuclear accident ever but it is the most complicated

Water
In the immediate aftermath of the calamity, at least 1.5 million households were reported to have lost
access to water supplies.[16][202] By 21 March 2011, this number fell to 1.04 million.[203]
Elericity According to Tōhoku Electric Power (TEP), around 4.4 million households in
northeastern Japan were left without electricity.[204] Several nuclear and conventional power plants
went offline after the earthquake, reducing TEPCO's total capacity by 21 GW. [205] Rolling
blackouts began on 14 March due to power shortages caused by the earthquake. [206] The Tokyo
Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which normally provides approximately 40 GW of electricity,
announced that it can currently provide only about 30 GW. This is because 40% of the electricity
used in the greater Tokyo area is now supplied by reactors in
the Niigata and Fukushima prefectures.[207] The reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi and Fukushima
Dai-ni plants were automatically taken offline when the first earthquake occurred and have
sustained major damage related to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Rolling blackouts of
three hours are expected to last until the end of April and will affect the Tokyo, Kanagawa,
Eastern Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Chiba, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tochigi, and Gunmaprefectures.
[208]
 Voluntary reduced electricity use by consumers in the Kanto area helped reduce the predicted
frequency and duration of the blackouts.[209]By 21 March 2011, the number of households in the
north without electricity fell to 242,927.[20