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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. [itnplayer id="ca464c589505a8cd5cfbc1a304add774"] 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.

News|Mar 11, 2011
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