Tsunami in Japan

On Friday afternoon, March 11,2011 an 8.9-magnitude earthquake triggered tsunamis on the coastline north of Tokyo. The earthquake and tsunami had hit Japan in a time where Japan was struggling to get out of a recession and was pressured to curb the heaviest public debt load in the world. The earthquake was the fifth largest in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger. The nuclear power plant has been declared as a state of emergency because the pressure has surpassed normal levels. Thousands living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant are forced to evacuate the vicinities.



* Four trains are missing along the coast, says Japan Railways; and a ship carrying 100 people was swept away
* Fire has engulfed swathes of the coast in Miyagi prefecture's Kesennuma city, one-third of which is reportedly under water
* A major explosion hit a petrochemical plant in Sendai; further south a huge blaze swept an oil refinery in Ichihara city, Chiba prefecture
* Some 1,800 homes are reported to have been destroyed in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture
* A dam burst in north-eastern Fukushima prefecture, sweeping away homes, Kyodo news agency reports
* At least 20 people were injured in Tokyo when the roof of a hall collapsed on to a graduation ceremony


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031105407.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598