A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Japan this afternoon and triggered a tsunami up to 10 metres high. Video shows the three-metres wave hitting Sendai in the east coast.
The death toll stands at 26 at the time of writing, with many feared missing. [Update] Over 1300 fatalities, death toll continues to rise and may exceed 10000. You can make a donation to Red Cross Japan via Google’s Crisis Response project.
Final updates
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a 9.0-magnitude undersea earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on March 11.
It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan. It’s also the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.
The earthquake triggered destructive tsunami waves of up to 40 metres that struck Japan, in some cases travelling up to 10 km inland.
Over 13,000 deaths are confirmed, with another 15,000 reportedly missing.
The earthquake and tsunami also caused a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant.
With reference from Wikipedia.
