Tsunami Near Japan Sets Off Alarm Bells in 50 Nations

Bikram Pandey
11 Mar, 2011
New York City

World markets are on the edge as most nations touched by the Pacific Coast prepare to battle tsunami unleashed by the strongest earthquake felt in three centuries near the northern coast of Japan. Hawaii and the West Coast of the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand are expected to hit with waves.

[R]11:45 AM New York – World financial markets were on the edge as most nations touched by the Pacific Coast prepare to battle tsunami unleashed by the strongest earthquake felt in three centuries near the northern coast of Japan. Hawaii and the West Coast of the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand are expected to hit with surging coastal waves as early as today.[/R]

Governments of nearly sixty nations are on high alert after a massive tsunami near the northeast coast of Japan struck late afternoon local time.

The ripple effects of tsunami waves are expected to reach at least fifty nations including several islands of Philippines, Australia, Hawaii and the west coats of North and South America.

The earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Ritcher''s scale struck northern Japan triggering a tsunami and causing extensive damage and fires in Tokyo.

The largest earthquake to hit Japan for over a century according to Japan Meteorological Agency struck at 2:46 p.m. local time off the coast of Japan.

At least two hundred people have died in Sendai, the nearest city to the epicenter of the quake at 127 kilometer. Tokyo, about 300 kilometer from the offshore quake witnessed widespread damage and a loss of power for 4 million homes.

Tsunami waves as high as 10 meters high hit Japan''s Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, officials said.

Initial media reports confirmed “several hundreds dead” but given the scale of the devastation the death toll is expected to surge. As many as 50 nations on the periphery of the Pacific Ocean are expected to be hit with surging waves.

Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Pacific coast of Russia and Hawaii have received tsunami warnings.

First tsunami waves are expected to hit Hawaii around 4:30 a.m. local time and the entire West Coast of the U.S. is preparing for a surge in wave that is expected crest between 8:00 a.m. local time and early Saturday.

At least thirty aftershocks have been recorded in Japan since quake hit first on the shore. Land lines and mobile phones are down in and around Tokyo area and metro system out of operation for more than three hours on several lines.

U.S. Geological Survey estimated this quake to be one of the worst in last century and at least one aftershock of magnitude 7.1 was recorded.

China and Japan offered to help Japan and the U.S. offered to use its military assets to manage air traffic.

Flights in and out of Tokyo’s main airport have been halted for at least four hours and Narita international airport reopened international services in the late evening.

More than 2,000 people near a nuclear plant in Fukushima have been asked to evacuate. Nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency said that reactors at four nuclear plants have been “successfully closed down” with no nuclear radiation leakage feared.

World stock markets closed generally lower. The benchmark index in Tokyo fell 1.7% and the futures of the Nikkei dropped as much as 5% in Singapore trading. Japanese yen and government bonds gained.

Markets in Hong Kong, India, Australia closed lower and in Europe fell and in New York traded lower.