TOKYO -- A 8.9 magnitude earthquake slammed Japan's northeastern coast Friday, unleashing a 13-foot tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland. Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.
At least five people were killed and there were reports of several injuries in Tokyo, hundreds of miles away, where buildings shook violently through the main quake and the wave of massive aftershocks that followed.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the quake caused "major damage" in northeastern Japan, but that nuclear power facilities in the area were not damaged and there was no radiation leakage.
Officials were still trying to assess the extent of destruction. The government's top spokesman, Yukio Edano, said that the country was sending troops to the quake-hit area to join relief efforts.
A tsunami warning was also issued for Hawaii and the coasts of Oregon, California, Washington and parts of Alaska.
"A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along the coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's bulletin said. "Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property."The first tsunami wave was expected to hit Hawaii at 2:59 a.m. local time (7:59 a.m. ET), officials said.
In Japan, TV footage showed waves of muddy water sweeping over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some on fire, inland as cars attempted to drive away.A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and was burning out of control.
Public broadcaster NHK showed footage of a large ship being swept away by the tsunami and ramming directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture. Similar destruction was seen in dozens of communities along the coast.
In various locations along the coast, footage showed massive damage from the tsunami, with cars, boats and even buildings being carried along by waters.Tremors were felt as far away as Beijing, China, about 1,300 miles west of Tokyo. The quake that struck at 2:46 p.m. local time (12:46 a.m. ET) and was as followed by five powerful aftershocks within about an hour, the strongest measuring 7.1. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 8.4.Citing USGS data, NBC News reported that if the 8.9 reading is verified, it would be the fifth-strongest earthquake since 1900.
The quake struck at a depth of six miles, about 80 miles off the eastern coast. The area is 240 miles 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. NHK said more than 4 million buildings without power in Tokyo and its suburbs.
The ceiling in Kudan Kaikan, a large hall in Tokyo, collapsed, injuring an unknown number of people, NHK said.
Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit.
It sent bookshelves and computers crashing to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls.
"I've been through many earthquakes, but I've never felt anything like this," he said.
Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks.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. The tsunami roared over embankments in Sendai city, washing cars, houses and farm equipment inland before reversing directions and carrying them out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas pipes.
In Tokyo, hundreds of people were evacuated from Shinjuku station, the world's busiest, to a nearby park. Trains were halted.Tokyo's main airport was closed. A large section of the ceiling at the 1-year-old airport at Ibaraki, about 50 miles northeast of Tokyo, fell to the floor with a powerful crash.
TV announcers urged viewers near the shore to move to strong concrete buildings and stay above the third floor.
Dozens of fires were reported in northern prefectures of Fukushima, Sendai, Iwate and Ibaraki. Houses collapsing and landslides were also reported in Miyagi.
Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
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