The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) 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 government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant’s system was unable to cool the reactor. The reactor was not leaking radiation but its core remained hot even after a shutdown. The plant is 170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.

Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at any.

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 (kilometers) 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.

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,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio 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.

A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture and burned out of control with 100-foot (30 meter) -high flames whipping into the sky.

From northeastern Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, NHK showed footage of a large ship being swept away and ramming directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city.

NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.

Also in Miyagi, a fire broke out in a turbine building of a nuclear power plant, but it was later extinguished, said Tohoku Electric Power Co. the company said.

A reactor area of a nearby plant was leaking water, the company said. But it was unclear if the leak was caused by tsunami water or something else. There were no reports of radioactive leaks at any of Japan’s nuclear plants.

Jefferies International Limited, a global investment banking group, said it estimated overall losses to be about $10 billion.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 2:46 p.m. quake was a magnitude 8.9, the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s, and one of the biggest ever recorded in the world.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.

A tsunami warning was extended to a number of Pacific, Southeast Asian and Latin American nations, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities ordered an evacuation of coastal communities, but no unusual waves were reported.

Thousands of people fled their homes in Indonesia after officials warned of a tsunami up to 6 feet (2 meters) high. But waves of only 4 inches (10 centimeters) were measured. No big waves came to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, either.

The first waves hit Hawaii about 1400 GMT (9 a.m. EST) Friday. A tsunami at least 3 feet (a meter) high were recorded on Oahu and Kauai, and officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger.

In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. The tremor bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 1,093-foot (333-meter) steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit.

It sent bookshelves and computers crashing to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls.

“I’ve been through many earthquakes, but I’ve never felt anything like this,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to get home tonight.”

Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo completely smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being comforted by another woman.

Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday that caused no damage.

Hiroshi Sato, a disaster management official in northern Iwate prefecture, said officials were having trouble getting an overall picture of the destruction.

“We don’t even know the extent of damage. Roads were badly damaged and cut off as tsunami washed away debris, cars and many other things,” he said.

Dozens of fires were reported in northern prefectures of Fukushima, Sendai, Iwate and Ibaraki. Collapsed homes and landslides were also reported in Miyagi.

Japan’s worst previous quake was in 1923 in Kanto, an 8.3-magnitude temblor that killed 143,000 people, according to USGS. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe city in 1996 killed 6,400 people.

Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world’s quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile last February also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.

——

Associated Press writers Jay Alabaster, Mari Yamaguchi, Tomoko A. Hosaka and Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

Roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunamis struck the state, which had hours to prepare. Watch live video here:

Video chat rooms at Ustream

——-

A tsunami spawned by a massive earthquake in Japan raced across the Pacific Ocean early Friday, pushing tourists to the upper levels of high-rise hotels in Hawaii and threatening to swamp low-lying areas of the U.S. western coast.

Sirens woke residents in the middle of the night in Hawaii, where the governor ordered the evacuation of coastal areas and warned residents to take the threat seriously. People waited in long lines stocking up on gas, bottled water, canned food and generators, and officials told residents to stock up on water and fill their cars with gas.

The first waves to hit Hawaii could reach 6 feet high and were expected to hit about 3 a.m. local time (9 a.m. EST.)

The tsunami slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It’s traveling at 500 mph — as fast as a jetliner — and likely won’t change speed until it hits a large area of land, said Kanoa Koyanagi, a geophysicist for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Waves are predicted to hit the western coast of the United States between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. EST Friday. People near the beach and in low-lying coastal areas of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County were told to move immediately inland to higher ground.

While the tsunami is likely to go around smaller islands, the size of Hawaii’s islands will amplify the waves, which will crash hardest against harbors and inlets.

“They’re going to be coming in with high currents, they can pick up boulders from the sea floor … they can pick up cars, they can pick up fuel tanks, those things become battering rams and so it just amplifies the destruction in a big tsunami,” said Chip McCreery, director for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Waves almost 5 feet high hit Midway, a tiny island in the North Pacific about 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu.

“We’re preparing for the worst and we’re praying for the best,” said John Cummings III, spokesman for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.

The Honolulu International Airport remained open but seven or eight jets bound for Hawaii have turned around, including some originating from Japan, the state Department of Transportation said.

All harbors are closed and vessels were being ordered to leave the harbor.

The warnings issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cover an area stretching the entire western coast of the United States and Canada from the Mexican border to Chignik Bay in Alaska.

In Alaska, a dozen small communities along the Aleutian Island chain were on alert. In Oregon, county officials in Oregon were assessing whether to sound sirens; waves in Brookings in southern Oregon could also hit 6 feet.

The tsunami was expected to hit the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory at 4 a.m. EST, but no big waves came. Waves about 2.6 feet high hit the beach in Saipan, and sirens still sounded in the empty streets.

Maria Mettao, who works at the front desk of the Hyatt Regency Saipan in the Northern Marianas, said hotel staff has been given the all-clear. Mettao said the hotel has allowed guests to leave from the higher floors where they had been evacuated.

In the Philippines, officials ordered an evacuation of coastal communities along the country’s eastern seaboard in expectation of a tsunami following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan.

Disaster management officials in Albay province southeast of Manila say they ordered residents to move to designated evacuation sites that are at least 15 feet above sea level.

In Guam, authorities advised people to evacuate low areas of the U.S. territory and seek ground higher than 50 feet above sea level and 100 feet inland.

Australia was not in danger because it was protected by island nations to the north, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, that would largely absorb any wave activity, said Chris Ryan, a forecaster at the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre, the Australian government agency that monitors the threat.

The warning was issued Friday at 3:31 a.m. EST. Sirens were sounded about 30 minutes later in Honolulu alerting people in coastal areas to evacuate. About 70 percent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million population resides in Honolulu, and as many as 100,000 tourists are in the city on any given day.

Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management has created refuge areas at community centers and schools, and authorities on Kauai island have opened 11 schools to serve as shelters for those who have left tsunami inundation zones.

Streets cleared out across Hawaii with usually bustling Waikiki mostly free of any foot traffic, with police ordering every one into the hotels. At the hotels, visitors were evacuated to the third floor and higher.

“The situation we’re confronting right now is unpredictable. We do not know how many waves are going to be coming,” said Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle. “We do not know which wave, if any wave, causes the most damage and how long the series of waves can last. As a result of that, it is our responsibility to do those things which are absolutely essential to ensure that human life is saved.”

A small 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island just before 5 a.m. EST, but there were no reports of damages and the quakes weren’t likely related, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey said.

U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews were making preparations throughout the Hawaiian Islands to provide post-tsunami support, with cutter and aircraft crews positioning themselves to conduct response and survey missions.

Dennis Fujimoto said the mood is calm but concerned on the island of Kauai while people readying for the tsunami.

There’s long lines at gas stations, and at the Wal-Mart, one of the few places that was open to midnight, people were stocking up on supplies.

“You got people walking out of there with wagonloads of water,” he said.

The worst big wave to strike the U.S. was a 1946 tsunami caused by a magnitude of 8.1 earthquake near Unimak Islands, Alaska, that killed 165 people, mostly in Hawaii. In 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile caused a tsunami that killed at least 1,716 people, including 61 people in Hilo. It also destroyed most of that city’s downtown. On the U.S. mainland, a 1964 tsunami from a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, struck Washington State, Oregon and California. It killed 128 people, including 11 in Crescent City, Calif.

—-

Associated Press Writers contributing to this report include Mark Niesse and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Denise Petski in Los Angeles, Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Michelle Price and Carson Walker in Phoenix.

Watch live coverage on Japan’s English-language news channel NHK here:

Live video by Ustream

UPDATE — Aftermath footage (5:43 P.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
Rescuers and journalists alike a patrolling the areas affected by the tsunami. With just one or two buildings remaining in Minamisanriku, the sheer scale of destruction is apparent:

Channel 4 News took a closer look at the city of Kesennuma, the site depicted in a much-viewed video showing the ground level perspective as the tsunami swept through the city streets.

UPDATE — Tsunami from ground level (4:30 P.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
One of the more terrifying videos we’ve seen today, this amateur footage shows the tsunami hit shore at full height:

UPDATE — New footage from Sendai airport (2:45 P.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
More amateur video shot from the interior of the Sendai airport during the tsunami shows relative calm inside of the building while the tsunami destroyed the exterior:

Another amateur videographer caught the earth tearing open in the hours after the initial quake and aftershocks:

UPDATE  — Videos show extent of devastation (1:25 P.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
Residents emerged from their shelters over the weekend to being surveying the damage. According to one woman, local governments are either unable or unwilling to help so she has begun rebuilding herself:

This collection of shots shows unidentified blocks of destruction as well as an aerial view of what appears to be the Sendai airport. Note the fighter jets picked up by powerful tsunami waters and carried into other buildings:

UPDATE –  Views of the tsunami from above (12:38 P.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
This dramatic video shot from high ground over a neighborhood in the Miyagi Prefecture shows houses swept away with some residents narrowly escaping:

Seawalls overflow in the town of Miyako as the tsunami turns a small stream into a raging black wall of water:

Footage from the Tokyo Broadcasting System shows an alarming series of moments when the tsunami takes over what appears to be a parking lot. The cars looks like rubber ducks when carried away by the powerful force of the water:

UPDATE — Large scale destruction caught on tape (11:05 A.M. EST, 03/14/2011)
More and more dramatic footage of the tsunami impact appeared online over the weekend. Some of the most disturbing shows water turn from a trickle down the streets to a torrent of destruction that carries away cars and houses. This video reportedly shows a neighborhood in Kesennuma destroyed in a matter of minutes:

This aerial video shows the tsunami speeding through the water before slamming into land and overtaking farm:

UPDATE — An insider’s look at the quake (5:47 P.M. EST)
This video of an open supermarket during the earthquake provides a unique perspective on the chaos of the quake:

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released this video earlier today showing the path of the tsunami. Ecuador, Chile and other South American countries still await impact:

For the future, here’s a tsunami survival guide.

UPDATE — Tsunami heads south as radiation fears mount (4:30 P.M. EST)
Daylight is breaking in Japan exposing the damage unleashed by the tsunami and earthquake.

The next stops for tsunamis include Easter Island and other locations in Chile, while aftershocks continue to shake Japan. The severity of the more severe aftershocks — at least two aftershocks have been recorded at a 6.6 and 7.1 magnitude — are individually comparable with other catastrophic earthquakes in recent past. (The Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake was only a 6.3 on the Richter scale.)

Here are a few more interesting updates, including broader coverage of the science of earthquakes and the United States’ preparedness.

• Radioactive Steam Released From Stricken Japanese Nuke Plant (TIME)
• Radiation 1,000 times higher than normal detected at nuke plant (Kyodo News)
• Is D.C. prepared for a tsunami? (National Journal)

UPDATE — Powerful aftershocks continue (2:49 P.M. EST)
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake has struck central Japan, and while seemingly an aftershock, any quakes above 6.6 on the Richter scale is considered an earthquake. Building swayed in Tokyo, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

Meanwhile, a cruiseship and bullet train have gone missing accounting for potentially 400 missing persons. The BBC reports that the 8.9 magnitude earthquake is reportedly the strongest in that area in hundreds of years:

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake which struck Japan on Friday was the strongest in the area in nearly 1,200 years, David Applegate, a senior science adviser at the US Geological Survey, tells the Associated Press. He says the quake ruptured a patch of the earth’s crust 240km (150 miles) long and 80km (50 miles) across.

UPDATE 1:43 P.M. EST:
A tsunami overtakes the Kuwagasaki neighborhood in Miyako, about 125 miles northeast of Sendai and knocks houses off of their foundations:

Despite such overwhelming destruction, the New York Times reports that thanks to strict building codes and the best technology “no country may be better prepared to withstand earthquakes than Japan.” The video below shows the swaying buildings equipped with sophisticated systems to absorb the impact of seismic shifts:

UPDATE 12:58 P.M. EST:
President Obama announced the U.S. response to the earthquake in Japan just a few minutes ago:

In addition pledging assitance to the Japan — including sending an additional aircraft carrier to Japan and also helping to supply the coolant to the damaged nuclear power plant — President Obama assured the press that the government had taken all necessary steps to respond to the tsunami on the West Coast:

Here in the United States, there hasn’t been any major damage so far. But we are taking this very seriously and we are monitoring the situation very closely. FEMA is fully activated and is coordinating with state and local officials to support these regions as necessary. Let me just stress: if people are told to evacuate, do as you are told.

Today’s events remind us how fragile life can be. Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan and across the region, and we are going to stand with them as they recover and rebuild after this tragedy.

UPDATE 12:19 P.M. EST:
More details are being released by international news organizations. Here are the latest headlines and links to full coverage:

• Death toll from powerful Japan quake likely to top 1,000 (Kyodo News)
• Emergency declared at Japanese Nuclear plant (New York Times)
• Witnesses describe the horror, damage from quake and tsunami (CNN)
• Thousands roam Tokyo’s streets (AP)

Travel in and around Japan is frozen. According to MSBC’s live coverage, drivers have been stuck in gridlock on the high ways in Tokyo for six hours or more. US-Airways flights going into and out of the country have been cancelled.

UPDATE 11:23 A.M. EST:
The West Coast is bracing for the tsunami that’s been travelling across the world from Japan at the speed of an airplane. The first waves hit the Oregon Coast just a few minutes ago. According to the Associated Press, the impact so far is minimal:

HONOLULU — The first waves from a tsunami caused by a Japanese earthquake have reached the U.S. mainland along the Oregon coast.

The National Weather Service says some of the biggest waves of between 6 and 7 feet were expected to hit near Crescent City, Calif.

In Alaska, the tsunami caused a wave just over 5 feet at Shemya in the Aleutian Islands 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Surfers in Southern California are hoping to catch a wild ride when the waves hit.

UPDATE 10:30 A.M. EST:
According to the United State Geological Survey, the earthquake in Japan could be the fifth largest in recorded history, comparable to last year’s disaster in Chile but not as strong as the 1952 quake in Kamchatka off the eastern coast of Russia:

1. Chile — 9.5 (May 22, 1960)
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska — 9.2 (March 28, 1968)
3. Off the west coast of Northern Sumatra — 9.1 magnitude (December 26, 2004)
4. Kamchatka — 9.0 (November 4, 1952)
5. Offshore Maule, Chile — 8.8 (February 27, 2010)

UPDATE 10:14 A.M. EST:
Google’s Person Finder is now live, in case you have loved ones in Japan — access it below.

One of the more alarming videos, shows a torrent of debris and fire overtaking a field. You can see entire houses and cars being carried by the powerful mass of water:

UPDATE 9:57 A.M. EST:
Rescue efforts are underway across Japan as it nears midnight. As tsunami waters have receded, fires are a significant concern. Already, Japan has seen major explosions near oil refineries:

Another video of oil refinery explosions:

From earlier, the tsunami sweeps over an airport in Sendai:

UPDATE 9:29 A.M. EST:
A tsunami is wrapping around the Hawaiin Islands at the moment. The waves so far have been larger than normal, though not destructive. Here’s a live video feed from CBS News from Honolulu:

Video chat rooms at Ustream

UPDATE 8:49 A.M. EST:
Authorities report 200 to 300 bodies litter the shores of Sendai, Japan after the worst of the tsunami has receded. The death toll is expected to rise throughout the day as rescue workers sift through the damage.

Meanwhile, workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant are on alert after a precautionary evactuation near the plant. With electricity disruptions, workers worried that they would not be able to keep the cooling system in operation.

On-the-ground video of the earthquake — likely an aftershock — in Japan:

This video from Sendai shows men at work when the earthquake hits as well as a shocking view of cars floating down a river after the tsunamis:

More cars swept away by a tsunami in Japan: