Is Sendai News Today

Are injured. early rescue efforts were difficult because of all of the aftershocks as you can imagine. highways in that part of japan are damaged and utility services, water, electricity, theyre out for hundreds of thousands. the quake triggered a tsunami more than 23 feet high that washed over the japanese coastline, traveling about 6 miles inland. this is the largest quake in recorded history to hit japan and the seventh largest worldwide since recordkeeping first began. and at this hour, one ...

Weigh nothing. just heartbreaking images here. >> certainly. seeing the fires taking place here, you have to wonder whats going on in the state of tokyo, most populated area, populated city in japan. for that we go to our abc news correspondent live in tokyo, akiko fujita, sitting there enduring the aftershocks. how many have you felt since the initial shock took place at 2:46 this afternoon on your friday? >> reporter: you know, i think i lost count. we are feeling one just as youre saying that...

We just heard from one of our partners out here that 200 people out in sendai, a major city weve been talking about in -- near the epicenter of the quake, 200 people stuck in a landslide, thats from fujii tv. and we also heard that japan rail has stopped all service as a precaution. we know eight confirmed deaths so far. we heard reports of -- >> all right. we may have lost contact there with akiko. obviously, this is a developing story. you can imagine the situation shes in as details just beco...

There in japan. good morning, are you hearing anything in terms of the damage here, i know its still pa pandemonium and chaos, in terms of what the difference may be? >> reporter: this this an after shock that im feeling as im sitting here talking to you. you mentioned the images. the homes being washed away off the northern coast of japan. the closest city, the closest largest city is sendai. about 1 million people live there. we do know that magnitude 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tsunami is measu...

Seen on television and heard over radio that at 1446 today an earthquake hit of 8.4 on the magnitude scale, centered around the shores offshore sanduku and a very strong earthquake. in the tohoku region mainly over a wide area, damage has been inflicted. i offer my deepest sympathy to the people who have suffered the disaster. regarding our nuclear power facilities, some of the nuclear power plants have stopped automatically. but so far no radioactive material or radiation has been confirmed to ...

Right now looks like theres a lot of incredible fires going on, water damage, just destruction in general. what do you know about that particular area of the country? >> reporter: well, theres one of the major cities out in japan. you know, the fact they are already, you know -- initial reports were getting, the damage were already seeing, you can imagine once things quiet down, things get settled, well get more reports of that. so, you can imagine the economic impact they will feel. sendai is d...

The task force will gather information on damage and prepare for more possible tsunamis. japans foreign minister matsumoto has ordered his officials to start preparing to accept foreign assistance. she has also told them to check on the safety of foreigners living here in japan. the pacific tsunami warning center has issued a tsunami warning not just for japan but also for russia, marcus island, the northern marianas, guam, wake island and taiwan. the pacific tsunami warning center has issued a ...

Well. while the epicenter is a few hours away from here, were feeling the impact here in tokyo. >> akiko, also we have been seeing incredible pictures from what appears to be the airport. in fact, a lot of people standing on the rooftops at the airport. the airport appeared to be completely and totally flooded. lots of debris in the area surrounding the airport, cars, all sort of debris. were looking at those pictures now. do you have any information of whats going on there? >> reporter: i dont ...

Haneda, as well as narita airport. a great earthquake has hit japan. magnitude 8.4 in northern japan. agency has been warning of tsunami ever since the quake. tsunami has hit miyagi, sendai area as live helicopter camera crews are up covering and showing you exactly what is going on at this time. deputy chief cabinet secretary told reporters on friday that miyagi prefecture where the earthquake has hit hardest has asked the government to send self-defense force units to deal with the situation a...

Public broadcaster out of japan. this is a rolling tide of tsunami water. you see it takes outside homes. this is a rural region north of tokyo called miyagi. as we continue to get details, most saying the aftershock just as bad. coming in at 7.4. once again, this quake struck in the middle of the afternoon, locally, 2:46. most people are out and about during their day. as you can see, perhaps the upside would be that this looks to be a sparsely populated region as opposed to an area like tokyo ...