Japan awoke to apocalytic scenes as the country reeled under the
forces of nature – an earthqauke and massive tsunamis that swept through
densely populated coastal areas leaving death and destruction in their
wake.

An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale rocked
Japan’s eastern coast, unleashing a 13ft (4m) tsunami which swept boats,
cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYH_OXeKe1E&feature=player_embedded]

At
least one person was killed and there were reports of several injuries
in the capital, Tokyo, hundreds of miles away, where buildings shook
violently throughout the main quake and the wave of massive aftershocks
that followed.

A tsunami warning was issued for dozens of Pacific countries, as far away as Chile.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm2Hr-1l1MM&feature=player_embedded]

Japan’s
meteorological agency said that, 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.

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.

TV footage showed waves of muddy waters
sweeping over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some
on fire, inland as cars attempted to drive away. Sendai airport, north
of Tokyo, was inundated with cars, trucks, buses and thick mud deposited
over its runways. Fires spread through a section of the city, public
broadcaster NHK reported.