Tsunami hits Japan after magnitude 8.8-earthquake

The sixth largest earthquake in the history of the world brought devastation to Japan today, sparking a massive tsunami which swept away ships, buildings and cars.

The gigantic earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.9, triggered a tsunami thought to have reached 33ft (10 metres) high, causing widespread destruction and a series of fires off the coast of Tokyo.

The whole of the Pacific basin was placed on tsunami alert, with the death toll likely to significantly rise above the 26 already known to have perished.

Experts said the tsunami wave could be higher than many small Pacific islands.

The tremor struck 250 miles from the capital, at a depth of 20 miles, at 5.46am GMT and experts fear aftershocks in the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and other Pacific Coast areas.

The epicentre was hundreds of miles from Tokyo but there were reports buildings had collapsed in the capital. Elsewhere fires were burning out of control up and down the coast, including one at an oil refinery.

Today's earthquake was 8,000 times more powerful than the one that devastated Christchurch in New Zealand last month.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the quake caused "major damage in broad areas" but nuclear power plants in the area were not affected. The government was preparing to send troops to the quake-hit areas to help relief efforts.

"This is a rare, major quake, and damages could quickly rise by the minute," said Junichi Sawada, an official with Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

UK airlines cancelled flights to Tokyo following the devastating earthquake.

A Foreign Office spokesman in London said: "Our thoughts are with the people of Japan at this time. We have a large embassy in Japan which is rapidly assessing the situation and reacting to what is an enormous earthquake.

"They are working to provide urgent consular assistance to any British nationals who might need it."

There have not yet been any reports of British fatalities, the Foreign Office added.

Staff at Telford's Japanese IT firm Ricoh were frantically attempting to get in touch with family members. Phone lines were down across the north of the country, making it almost impossible for people from the Priorslee-based company to get in touch with friends and family.

The firm has a factory not far from the affected area on North Island, and a spokesman said: "They are all trying to get in touch via the internet as they can't get through by phone.

"They are very concerned about their families."

Ricoh is not the only Japanese firm with a base in Telford, but spokesmen for Makita and Denso said the tsunami had not impacted on their operations at home.

Cameras captured live footage of the tsunami as it washed tonnes of debris miles inland and violently shook buildings.

Japan's meteorological agency said within two hours large tsunamis washed ashore into dozens of cities along a 1,300-mile (2,100km) stretch of the country's eastern shore — from the northern island of Hokkaido to central Wakayama prefecture.

Eye witness Roland Buerk, from the BBC, said: "When the earthquake hit, buildings in Tokyo swayed. Walking was like crossing the deck of a ship at sea."

In central Tokyo, 240 miles away, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety.

The tremor bent the upper tip of the Tokyo Tower, a 1,093-foot steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. More than four million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.