Massive 8.9-magnitude quake hits Japan

[tonev]

This is so bad hope everything in Japan will be alright...

(click on the spoiler to see the whole news article 

Spoiler

Tokyo (CNN) -- An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.
The epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.
The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.
In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.
Scenes inside office buildings showed papers strewn all over the floor and people clinging onto seats and desks.
Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.
It caused a power outage in about 4 million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.
A tsunami in the Pacific was moving closer to other shorelines in other countries, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.
It triggered tsunami warnings for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.
"Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region," it said.
"Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter."
The quake was the latest in a series in the region this week.
Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the coast of Honshu.
A day earlier, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said.
The largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said.

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[manuel]

The situation in Northern and Central Japan seems really awful. You can see people washed away in their cars on TV. That's quite disturbing. Even the NHK reporter's voice was trembling...

I'm very lucky being here in the South, nothing has happened here yet.

[Yukima]

I just heard about this now... 

I'm concerned, since the main branch of the company I work for is in Japan and is probably affected by the quake... (It's located in Kashima, Ibaraki prefecture - is that close to the epicenter? I have no idea.)

Also, my cousins live in Los Angeles, and will likely be affected by the tsunami that's scheduled to hit the west coast of everything in North/South America... 

[manuel]

Ibaraki prefecture is very close to the epicenter.

[Agent X]

Hope anyone here who lives there (and their families) are A OKAY.
I'm seeing the footage and still can't believe it!

[tonev]

Hope everything is ok

[FamicomFreak]

It's so odd that I woke up around 4am right around the time the quake happened in Japan and turned the TV only to find out a little later a breaking news flash just moments after the quake had happened.....That sure woke me up but I hope all you guys are fine...the videos I keep finding on youtube on people's personal experiences and recordings are just shocking! It reminds me of the quake that happened in Peru around two years ago I believe....

[nensondubois]

Hope no one is injured, killed or sustained any property damage. Hearing about cars falling of bridges made me stare in shock for a moment. Earthquakes have some .

[senseiman]

I'm with Manuel - safe and sound in southwestern Japan far from where the quake and tsunami struck.  I hope all other posters here are also safe.

The damage up north is horrendous.  Entire towns literally wiped off the face of the earth.  The images on TV were truly terrifying.  I (along with most people in Japan) live close to the coast.  Fortunately our place is on a hilltop.

I hope you'll all spare a moment for the Famicom fans in Tohoku who woke up this morning with nothing left.  When it comes time to start helping the survivors get back on their feet, I intend to put my money where my mouth is and contribute some of my video-game money to the cause.

[NintendoKing]

First a earthquake, then tsunami and now I am reading that 5 nuclear reactors are currently failing and could potentially fail entirely very soon causing ten times more damage then the reactor in Russia did years ago.

I am hoping that the reactors are cooled in time.

[linkzpikachu]

First a earthquake, then tsunami and now I am reading that 5 nuclear reactors are currently failing and could potentially fail entirely very soon causing ten times more damage then the reactor in Russia did years ago.

I am hoping that the reactors are cooled in time.

1. it was ukraine where the reactors failed
2. i hope EVERYONE is safe, manuel and senseiman you two are very lucky
3. right as i am typing this i relized that i have a former teacher who lives in japan, i hope she is safe as well

[manuel]

Has tappybot posted here since yesterday?
I hope he's fine.

[nintendodork]

He was last active at 5:11PM CST today, so yeah, he's at least logged in after the earthquake.

[MarioMania]

It could happen in California..

[MS-DOS4]

Another 6.8 quake has struck followed by more tremors.