BBC CBC CNN Fox News and more all rolled up into 1 MTG article
The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since records began has struck the country’s north-east and triggered a devastating tsunami.
History: The offshore quake at 2:46 p.m. local time had a magnitude of 8.9, making it the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, about 125 kilometres off the eastern coast.
Basic Facts : Infrastructure
- A state of emergency was declared at the Fukushima power plant after the cooling system failed in one of its reactors when it shut down automatically because of the earthquake.
- The earthquake also triggered a massive blaze at an oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, engulfing storage tanks.
- About four million homes in and around Tokyo suffered power outages.
Basic Facts : People
- There were no reports of any injuries to Canadians living or travelling in Japan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said at about 7 a.m. ET.
- Some reports quote Japanese police as saying 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the port city of Sendai…with the death toll expected to rise rapidly
- The Japanese Red Cross has already deployed a team to the affected areas to assess the damage and provide assistance.
- The Japanese Red Cross is focusing on medical emergencies and is not yet requesting international assistance.
- U.S. President Barack Obama sent his condolences to the people affected by the quake and the tsunami, saying the U.S. “stands ready to help” the Japanese.
- Japan’s worst previous quake occurred in 1923 in Kanto, an 8.3 magnitude temblor that killed 143,000 people.
World Wide Impact
Take a look at this picture as they it explains everything words simply cannot.
- The 1st wave of a tsunami is never the strongest as more countries brace for havoc.
Advertisements
