Jepun dilanda gempa bumi 8.9 magnitud

PENUMPANG perkhidmatan keretapi Yurikamome berjalan menyusuri landasan keretapi ke Station Shiodome, berhampiran Tokyo, sejurus selepas gempa bumi berukuran 8.9 magnitud melanda hari ini. - Foto AP

TOKYO: Jepun dilanda gempa bumi berukuran 8.9 magnitud di timur laut negara itu dan menyebabkan tsunami setinggi empat meter yang menghanyutkan kereta dan meruntuhkan bangunan di sepanjang perairan dekat pusat gempa.

Terdapat laporan kecederaan akibat daripada kejadian berkenaan di Tokyo.

Di beberapa tempat sepanjang peairan Jepun, rakaman televisyen menunjukkan kerosakan teruk akibat tsunami, dengan puluhan kereta, bot dan bangunan dihanyutkan air.

Sebuah kapal besar dihanyutkan tsunami yang merempuhnya ke arah tembok penahan di bandar Kesennuma, wilayah Miyagi, kata stesen ootage on public broadcaster NHK.

Pegawai sedang menilai jumlah kerosakan, kecederaan dan kematian akibat daripada gempa bumi tetapi tiada maklumat diperoleh setakat ini.

Gempa bumi itu berlaku pada jam 2.46 petang dan diikuti siri gegaran kuat termasuk 7.4 magnitud kira-kira 30 minit selepas itu. - Reuters

11 Mac 2011

Gempa Magnitud 8.8 Skala Richter Landa Jepun

Gempa bumi bermagnitud 8.8 pada skala richter berlaku di Pantai Timur Honshu, Jepun pada Jumaat.

TOKYO: Satu gempa bumi kuat bermagnitud 8.8 pada skala richter berlaku di Pantai Timur Honshu, Jepun pada Jumaat dan mencetuskan tsunami setinggi empat meter (13 kaki) hingga menghanyutkan kereta dan bangunan di sepanjang pandai berkenaan.

Di beberapa lokasi di sepanjang pantai Jepun, tayangan televisyen memaparkan berlakunya banjir dengan puluhan kereta, kapal serta bangunan dihanyutkan air.

Menurut rakaman stesyen televisyen Nasional NHK, terdapat sebuah kapal besar yang dibawa arus deras melanggar pemecah ombak di Bandar Kesunnuma di Wilayah Miyagi.

Gempa yang melanda kira-kira pukul 2.46 petang waktu tempatan diikuti dengan beberapa siri gempa susulan termasuk magnitud 7.4 sekitar 30 minit kemudian.

Agensi meteorologi mengeluarkan amaran tsunami bagi kawasan pantai Pasific seluruh Jepun.

Stesyen televisyen nasional NHK mengeluarkan peringatan kepada sesiapa yang masih berada di kawasan berdekatan pantai supaya berpindah ke kawasan tanah lapang yang lebih selamat.

Pusat Amaran Tsunami Pasifik di Hawaii berkata, amaran tsunami dikeluarkan kepada Jepun, Rusia, Pulau Marcus dan Marina Utara.

Manakala amaran berjaga-jaga dikeluarkan kepada Guam. Taiwan, Filipina, Indonesia dan Hawaii, Amerika Syarikat.

mStar
11 Mac 2011

Major tsunami damage in N Japan after 8.9 quake

Houses are washed away by tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (state) eastern Japan, after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off Japan's northeastern coast Friday, March 11, 2011. (AP Photo/NHK TV)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan was struck by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake off its northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot (4-meter) tsunami that washed away cars and tore away buildings along the coast near the epicenter. There were reports of injuries in Tokyo.

In various locations along Japan's coast, TV footage showed massive damage from the tsunami, with dozens of cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by waters. A large ship swept away by the tsunami rammed directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, according to footage on public broadcaster NHK.

Officials were trying to assess damage, injuries and deaths from the quake but had no immediate details.

The quake that struck at 2:46 p.m. was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude one about 30 minutes later. The U.S. Geological Survey upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 7.9.

The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan. NHK was warning those near the coast to get to safer ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the U.S. state of Hawaii.

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.

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.

In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms.

The ceiling in Kudan Kaikan, a large hall in Tokyo, collapsed, injuring an unknown number of people, NHK said.

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.

Thirty minutes after the quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard has set up task force and officials are standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.

"I'm afraid we'll soon find out about damages, since the quake was so strong," he said

The Star
11 Mac 2011

300 terkorban

MUSNAH...ada antara kenderaan awam rosak apabila terhumban ke dalam jurang akibat laluan di situ runtuh.

TAK DAPAT DISELAMATKAN...runtuhan rumah dan kereta dihanyutkan ke laut selepas ombak besar melanda bandar Kesennuma.

DUA KALI BENCANA...sebahagian daripada rumah di Natori terbakar selepas dilanda tsunami.

TOKYO: Gempa paling kuat melanda Jepun semalam membentuk tsunami setinggi 10 meter dan menghanyutkan rumah serta menolak kapal ke darat.

Bencana terburuk dalam tempoh 300 tahun di Jepun itu turut mencetuskan kebakaran, termasuk di sebuah loji nuklear.

Sehingga malam tadi, sekurang-kurangnya 300 orang disenaraikan sebagai maut atau hilang akibat gempa bumi sekuat 8.9 magnitud itu.

Pakar seismologi Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan Jepun berkata, kejadian semalam adalah gegaran kelima paling dahsyat di seluruh dunia sejak 1900 atau yang ketujuh dalam sejarah.

Laporan menyatakan, ombak besar tercipta di Lautan Pasifik menghanyutkan sebuah kapal Jepun membawa 100 orang.

Lebih 300 rumah di bandar Ofunato turut musnah sama sekali.

Ombak besar juga memusnahkan apa saja yang ada di laluannya, termasuk kapal kontena, kenderaan dan ladang.

Kerajaan berkata, gempa yang dapat dirasakan sehingga ke Beijing itu menyebabkan kerosakan besar-besaran.

Di Sendai, imej televisyen menunjukkan ombak berlumpur bergerak ke darat pada kelajuan tinggi dan memusnahkan kawasan kediaman berhampiran Sungai Natori.

Pegawai kerajaan tempatan di Miyagi, Ken Hoshi berkata, dia tidak pernah melihat bencana seburuk itu.

Di Tokyo, sejumlah kecederaan dilaporkan apabila bumbung bangunan dewan runtuh ketika majlis penganugerahan ijazah berlangsung.

Di ibu negara Jepun itu juga, asap dilihat berkepul-kepul di sekurang-kurangnya 10 lokasi ketika penduduknya mengalami gangguan elektrik.

Pusat Amaran Tsunami Pasifik mengeluarkan amaran tsunami menyeluruh sehingga ke Amerika Selatan, New Zealand dan Hawaii, menyebabkan pihak berkuasa mengarahkan orang ramai menjauhi pantai.

Pertubuhan Palang Merah pula mengingatkan, tsunami di antara empat dan 10 meter boleh menenggelamkan sebahagian daripada pulau yang ada di laluan ombak itu.

Sementara itu, kerajaan berkata, tiada sebarang kebocoran radiasi dikesan di loji nuklear di Onagawa walaupun ia terbakar.

Gempa pertama berlaku hanya kurang dari 400 meter ke timur laut Tokyo, diikuti lebih 40 gegaran susulan.

Satu daripadanya sekuat 7.1 magnitud.

Seorang pegawai kerajaan tempatan di Kurihara, Miyagi, berkata gegaran itu sangat kuat sehingga pekerja di situ terpaksa berpaut untuk mengelak daripada jatuh.

“Kami tak boleh keluar dari bangunan dengan segera kerana gegaran itu berterusan,” katanya.

Perdana Menteri, Naoto Kan, mengadakan mesyuarat tergempar sejurus selepas bencana itu berlaku dan kerajaan menghantar kapal tentera ke Miyagi untuk memberikan bantuan.

Gempa bumi itu berlaku pada jam 2.46 petang (1.46 petang waktu Malaysia) selama dua minit.

Bencana itu turut menyebabkan indeks pasaran saham Nikkei merudum, manakala nilai mata wang yen berbanding dolar AS terjejas teruk. - AFP

12 Mac 2011

Terkuat dalam tempoh 140 tahun

GAMBAR dari udara menunjukkan gempa bumi di utara Jepun mengakibatkan tsunami berair kehitaman menyapu kawasan pertanian di Sendai semalam.

TOKYO - Gempa bumi paling kuat dalam tempoh 140 tahun berlaku di laut timur Jepun semalam sekali gus mencetuskan ombak tsunami setinggi 10 meter.

Pihak berkuasa Jepun berkata, gempa bumi dengan kekuatan 8.9 pada skala Richter itu menyebabkan beratus-ratus orang dilaporkan terbunuh (sehingga 11.30 malam waktu Malaysia) dan jumlahnya dilaporkan meningkat dalam tempoh enam jam akan datang.

Menurut Agensi Kajian Geologi Amerika Syarikat (USGS), gempa bumi yang berpusat 130 kilometer dari pantai timur Sendai, Honshu pada kedalaman 24 kilometer.

Kira-kira sejuta penduduk mendiami Sendai yang merupakan sebuah kawasan pertanian utama di Jepun.

Bencana alam itu berlaku pada pukul 11.45 pagi waktu tempatan.

Perdana Menteri Jepun, Naoto Khan dalam sidang akhbar semalam mengakui gempa bumi tersebut menyebabkan kerosakan besar di utara Jepun.

Ombak tsunami tersebut membawa tanah dan serpihan sebahagiannya dalam keadaan terbakar menenggelamkan kawasan tanah pertanian di bandar Sendai, timur Jepun yang mempunyai sejuta penduduk.

Sebuah hotel runtuh di bandar Sendai dan ramai orang dipercayai tertimbus di celah runtuhan.

Turut disapu tsunami ialah Iwate, Miyagi dan Aomori.

Kosmo
12 Mac 2011

100 rakyat Malaysia selamat

KUALA LUMPUR - Kira-kira 100 rakyat Malaysia yang berada di wilayah Miyagi, Iwate dan Aomori, iaitu tiga wilayah yang teruk dilanda gempa bumi di Jepun disahkan selamat, demikian menurut Timbalan Ketua Perwakilan Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Tokyo, Ahmad Rozian Abdul Ghani.

"Pihak kedutaan telah menghubungi rakyat Malaysia di sini (Jepun) dah sahkan mereka selamat.

"Tidak semua dapat kita hubungi kerana ada antara mereka pulang bercuti ke Malaysia atau wilayah berhampiran ekoran cuti semester ketika ini," katanya semalam.

Jelasnya, daripada jumlah itu, 67 orang adalah pelajar iaitu 43 orang di universiti di Miyagi, 18 orang di Iwate dan enam orang di Aomori.

Ujarnya, pelajar dan rakyat Malaysia juga telah sedia maklum langkah-langkah yang perlu diambil sekiranya berlaku kecemasan seperti hadir ke pusat-pusat evakuasi yang disediakan pihak kerajaan tempatan.

Kosmo
12 Mac 2011


Huge whirlpools form off the coast of Japan as devastating tsunami disrupts currents

PENDUDUK mengharungi sisa runtuhan untuk mencari perlindungan di Sendai, utara Jepun pada Sabtu selepas berdepan bencana gempa bumi terburuk di negara itu sejak 140 tahun lalu pada Jumaat. - Foto AP 12 Mac 2011

Pulling the plug: A huge whirlpool traps a boat in a harbour near Oarai City, Ibaraki Prefecture, north eastern Japan. The vortex, which lasted several hours, formed as water drained away after the tsunami and channels on the sea bed created the spinning water

Mariners who escaped the onslaught of the tsunami soon had to contend with another peril - the appearance of vast whirlpools off the coast of Japan.

The powerful vortices appeared yesterday morning when the oceans, swollen by the vast surge of water, began to recede.

As the water levels fell, whirlpools hundreds of yards wide appeared, sucking everything into the themselves and creating new danger for passing boats.

Massive scale: Two whirlpools form off Iwaki city, Fukushima Prefecture, as currents created by the tsunami swirl around the shallow sea bed

Whirlpools are created by rising and falling water - and are a common feature of tsunamis. But they are rarely as spectacular - or as well photographed.

Dr Simon Boxhall, of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, said: 'It's exactly the same thing that happens when you take a plug out of a bath or sink.

'After a tsunami, the water drains away quite rapidly and if there are channels close to the shore then you can get these whirlpools forming. As the waves recedes, it creates this spinning water.'

The whirlpool near the port of Oarai - captured on film from a helicopter - lasted for several hours. A boats was caught by its pull - but it was unclear whether it was occupied.

'You tend to see them after a tsunami and they will have formed after the 2004 tsunami,'' said Dr Boxhall. 'We are seeing them here because they took place in the day and because there were a good number of helicopters in the air.

'They can be dangerous and crossing them in a boat is quite an adventure. You don't want to be in one.'
Powerful whirlpools are known as maelstroms. One of the most famous is found near the Lofoten Islands off the coast of Norway.

It is caused by a strong, five mile wide channel of water passing through islands. Its currents can reach 7mph.



The big pictures: The moment Japan's cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation

Stretching into the distance, waves caused by the tsunami pour over the coastline and rush inland swamping all before them. As the seawater passes over the land it mixes with the soil and begins to change colour to a dark brown

Helpless: A ship, dwarfed by the sheer size of the whirlpool, is drawn ever closer towards the vortex as is tossed about in the foaming waters off the port of Oarai, Ibaraki

Menace: Wave upon wave heads towards the coastline which has already been breached by an earlier onslaught

With fires and destruction all around him a man picks his way carefully though the rubble while (right) there's gridlocked in either direction in Sendai as people try to escape the coastal city

This extraordinary image shows how the quake split this road in Satte on the island of Honshu right down the middle

Two women in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble up a road that was buckled by the force of the quake. Below, a young woman wells up and leans on her friend as the true scale of the disaster that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent.

Collapsed: Three shocked employees look at what has become of the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima, where moments earlier they had been working

Raging seas: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

The same scene just moments later shows how the entire area with dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path. Bobbing about on the surface is all the debris the waters have picked up along the way

Swelling: The murky flow of mud and debris trapped in the tide of water washes over the tarmac car park at Sendai airport in northern Japan

Destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours after the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck this morning

Shock: A young couple at a bookshop in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as the ceiling collapses and the building rocks from the force of the quake while in Tokyo. Below : black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake

Aftermath: Clouds of grey smoke billow out of an oil refinery, and an inferno burns at its centre, in Chiba following the earthquake

Concerned: Two office workers in Tokyo brace themselves for a potential disaster as the earthquake rumbled buildings and smoke can be seen rising from skyscrapers outside

Effects: A mother and her daughter watch nervously as pools of water from burst pipes encroach on the pavement in Tokyo while, below, paramedics carry away casualties from a nearby building that was rocked by the earthquake

Red alert: Flames engulf homes that were hit with the full force of the tsunami in the Miyagi region of north eastern Japan

Debris: An eerie mist sweeps across the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters in Kesennuma in Miyagi, northern Japan

Explosion: Flames reach hundreds of feet into the sky after a natural gas facility in Chiba near Tokyo explodes after the earthquake, while below, a fire tears through residential houses in Yamada in northern Japan

Pile-up: New cars ready to be shipped are stacked on top of each other after the water gushed through Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture

The sheer force of the quake is evident in this image of the road in Fukushima which has been flipped, buckled and broken

Aftermath: The remains of houses are surrounded by broken wood and concrete after flood waters engulfed Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture

Giant fireballs rise from an oil refinery in Ichihara, which lies on the eastern coast of Japan, after being shaken by the earthquake off the coast

Wiped off the map: The moment apocalyptic tsunami waves drown a sleepy coast town

This is the almost apocalyptic moment unstoppable tsunami waves wipe out an entire town after a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Japan today.

Hundreds of homes, workplaces and roads had lined the busy residential area of Rikuzentakata, on the north eastern coast.

A few hours earlier it would have been a typical Japanese town with hundreds of cars moving along the roads just before the evening rush hour.

Calm before the storm: The town of Rikuzentakata on the coast of north-eastern Japan looks like any other residential area but approaching in the distance is mist from the tsunami wave

Destruction: Buildings further inland shake as the wave moves swiftly across the land destroying almost anything in its path

Overwhelmed: The immensely powerful wave moves closer

Flattened: The town is swamped with deep water and the wreckage of homes that only hours earlier would have been full of life

Mess: The water leaves a trail of destruction with houses collapsed, cars are overturned and ships submerged

Damage: More than half of the home on the coast are wiped out as land is covered with a wall of water up to ten metres high

But within seconds, the monstrous tsunami tidal wave gushes over rocks in the bay, bringing in its path a wall of water.

The wave reaches up to ten metres high, easily drowning homes that would have been full of people shortly before.

As the water sweeps past homes the entire region merges into the sea, causing a massive flood that few would have any chance of surviving.

Many of the homes are crushed beneath the intense pressure of the water which leaves behind a tangled mess of wrecked wooden homes.

In a scene resembling a floating city, other homes are carried away up to a mile inland as the wave wreaks havoc.

Any houses that stood firm against the first barrage of water were washed away when dozens more waves rolled in from the Pacific ocean.

But within seconds, the monstrous tsunami tidal wave gushes over rocks in the bay, bringing in its path a wall of water.

The wave reaches up to ten metres high, easily drowning homes that would have been full of people shortly before.

As the water sweeps past homes the entire region merges into the sea, causing a massive flood that few would have any chance of surviving.

Many of the homes are crushed beneath the intense pressure of the water which leaves behind a tangled mess of wrecked wooden homes.

In a scene resembling a floating city, other homes are carried away up to a mile inland as the wave wreaks havoc.

Any houses that stood firm against the first barrage of water were washed away when dozens more waves rolled in from the Pacific ocean.

Similar scenes unfolded across the coasts of Japan, with hundreds of people killed as the tsunami swept away ships, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicentre.

Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, the city in Miyagi prefecture, or state, closest to the epicentre. Another 137 were confirmed killed, with 531 people missing. Police also said 627 people were injured.

A large section of Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people in Miyagi, burned furiously into the night with no apparent hope of being extinguished, public broadcaster NHK said.

'The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan,' Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.

The quake was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that struck New Zealand late last month, devastating the city of Christchurch.

'The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month's worth of energy consumption' in the United States, U.S. Geological Survey Scientist Brian Atwater said.

Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions.

Large fishing boats and other vessels rode high waves ashore, slamming against overpasses or scraping under them and snapping power lines along the way. Upturned and partially submerged cars bobbed in the water. Ships anchored in ports crashed against each other.

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 homes, probably because of burst gas pipes.

Waves of muddy waters flowed over farmland near Sendai, carrying buildings, some of them ablaze. Drivers attempted to flee. Sendai airport was inundated with thick, muddy debris that included cars, trucks, buses and even light planes.

Highways to the worst-hit coastal areas buckled. Telephone lines snapped. Train service in north-eastern Japan and in Tokyo, which normally serve 10 million people a day, were suspended, leaving untold numbers stranded in stations or roaming the streets. Tokyo's Narita airport was closed indefinitely.

Mail Online
11 March 2011

Devastation and despair: Terrifying pictures reveal full horror of Japan's worst quake

Japanese rescue workers, emergency services and army units are fighting to save lives and contain the damage after the sixth most powerful earthquake in recorded history struck the island nation yesterday.

More than 1,000 are feared dead after the quake, which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, shook buildings to their foundations, opened up cracks in the ground and sent a 33ft tsunami crashing on the the north-east coast.

Stranded survivors desperately tried to call for help by writing SOS signs across the roofs of the few undamaged buildings where they have taken shelter, while others surveyed the devastation, stunned.

Fires continue to burn unabated across large parts of the country as damaged oil refineries and gas works billow black smoke into the sky.

Save our souls: Stranded people wait to be rescued from the roof of a building in Miyagi Prefecture

Carnage: Amidst tsunami flood waters burning houses and ships are piled in a mass of debris in Kisenuma city, Miyagi prefecture

Damage control: Firefighting ships spray water over burning oil refinery tanks in Ichihara in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo

Cataclysm: Local residents look at debris brought by the huge tsunami in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture

Endeavour: Rescue workers carry a body found in the debris in the town of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, left, while stranded survivors use whatever they can find to escape the ruins of the disaster in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture

Run aground: A container ship stranded, swept half ashore, in Sendai, north-eastern Japan

Inferno: Flames engulf buildings in an industrial complex in Sendai, north-eastern Japan

Disbelief: A man takes a photo of a car swept on to the roof of a building by the tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture

Levelled: A man rides a bicycle through a debris-strewn street in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture

Precarious: A huge trailer stuck in an narrow canal leans over debris at a port in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

Cut off: A bridge undergoing construction is damaged together with another bridge in Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture

Unusable: Vehicles are piled up beside homes in a residential area in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture

Chasm: A passing car keeps a safe distance from the giant rip in the road in Futaba, Fukushima prefecture

Devastation: A train sits derailed in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture

Carnage: A man cycles past a car overturned by the tsunami on a street in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture

Crippled: A Japanese military plane has its nose struck in a building at Matsushima air base, north-eastern Japan

Loss: Eiji Kanno, left, and his wife Matsuko are comforted rescue workers after finding out their 18-year-old daughter Mizuki is dead in Yamamoto, south of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture

Mail Online UK
12 March 2011