Powerful quake hits Japan

[pub]

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's northeastern coast around 0546 GMT on Friday.

It caused a four-metre tsunami in the port city of Kamishi and its tremors shook buildings in the capital Tokyo, over 300 kilometres away.

Now Taiwan has issued a tsunami warning.

[pub]

A large tsunami is sweeping through north-eastern Japan, following an earthquake thought to have been 8.9 on the Richter Scale. The first wave has also reached Russia's Kuril islands to the north, reportedly around a metre high. 11-thousand people are being evacuated from the area. In northern Japan, water is surging inland in Sed-ay, some 350km north of Tokyo. There's considerable damage and many casualties - although numbers can't be confirmed because communications are badly-affected. Several people are missing. The lower floors of buildings on Honshu island are being flooded and cars overturned. A bridge has also collapsed. Tokyo's Norita International Airport has also closed. The quake's epicenter was located 130 kilometres off Japan's Pacific coast. A tsunami warning's now in place across the entire Pacific region.

[ArCaver]

I guess most of us have been following this. Unbelievable devastation. Anyone know of any caving groups in Japan? Pub, was the tsunami a problem for the Philippines?

[pub]

Pub, was the tsunami a problem for the Philippines?

Of course, I’ve been monitoring this too and luckily we are not in the areas (facing the Pacific Ocean) that were under Tsunami Alert Level 2. Thanks for asking ArCaver!


Today the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center cancelled Tsunami Alert Level 2 and stated:

"PHIVOLCS has received reports of sea level data from the National Mapping Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), indicating minor sea level changes or the
arrival of unusual waves in some areas in the Philippines starting at 6:00 PM up to 10:10 PM with a reported maximum height ranging from 0.20 m to 0.70 m."

[pub]

Not having a TV, I'm relying on BBC for the latest (live) information:

BBC News - LIVE: Japan earthquake

Very amazing videos...

[pub]

The number of confirmed dead now stands at 3,771, Japan's NHK TV reports. There are nearly 8,000 people missing.