A massive earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.8 struck off the northern coast of Japan on Friday, violently shaking tall buildings in Tokyo and triggering tsunami.
A massive earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.8 struck off the northern coast of Japan on Friday, violently shaking tall buildings in Tokyo and triggering tsunami.
Smoke could be seen billowing from some buildings in the capital.
The roof of a large hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward collapsed, injuring a large number of people, fire department officials said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency put the epicenter of the quake 130 kilometers off the eastern coast of Miyagi Prefecture, which is part of the Tohoku region.
The temblor hit at 2:46 p.m. and was followed by strong aftershocks.
According to reports, the quake had an intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale of 7 in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, and upper 6 in parts of Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.
Shocks of lower 6 were reported in parts of Chiba, Saitama and Gunma prefectures.
The quake registered upper 5 in many parts of Tokyo.
It was the first time since October 2004 that an intensity of 7 was recorded in Japan.
Services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line, as well as on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, were suspended.
Warnings for large tsunami were issued for the Pacific coast of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and many other prefectures.
A tsunami measuring 7.3 meters was observed in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, and 4.1 meters in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, while another 3.3-meter tsunami hit the coast of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
A second strong quake registering an estimated magnitude of 7.4 struck at around 3:15 p.m. off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. The quake had an intensity of lower 6 in the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture.
A commencement ceremony for a vocational school was being held when the roof of the Kudan Kaikan hall in Tokyo's Kudan district collapsed, Tokyo Fire Department officials said.
At least one large fire was reported to have broken out in Tokyo's Odaiba district in the waterfront district. Fires were also reported in the Minami-Senju district in Tokyo's Adachi Ward.
Vehicles were reported to have been flipped over on an expressway in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward.
All services on the Tokyo Metro subway system in the Tokyo metropolitan area were stopped.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Transportation Bureau also suspended all subway services.
All services on the East Japan Railway Co.'s lines in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area were suspended.
Traffic on the Tohoku, Tomei, Chuo, Kan-Etsu and Joban expressways was stopped, according to officials at the Japan Road Traffic Information Center.
The government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan set up an emergency disaster headquarters.