M8.9 Earthquake and Tsunami Hits Japan - Earthquake Largest in Japan's history

UPDATE(14/03/11): Japan upgraded the magnitude of the earthquake yesterday, from M8.9 to M9.0. Tokyo Disneyland is going to close for 10 days(started yesterday) to check the safety of the facilities.

Japan just went through a terrible ordeal yesterday...in fact, 2... a M8.9 earthquake, and a huge tsunami, which reached the height of 10m. The tsunami stretched for kilometres before backing into the sea again. Houses,cars and even buildings were swept away, with dead bodies flowing with the waves. The giant earthquake that hit Tokyo, the capital of Japan, was the largest recorded in Japan's history. The deadliest one was in Chile, with a magnitude of 9.5, and also came before a large tsunami. The tsunami itself took away 1 000+ lives. Now, the tsunami that came yesterday has spread and is spreading to other countries, such as Taiwan, US and the Philippines. The waves(tsunami) that hit Taiwan were smaller than feared. Another country, Easter Island, expected its waves to be at around 2m. They were expected to hit the island about an hour ago. Naruko Airport in Tokyo had its runways covered with the waves of tsunami, as people at the airport scrambled to higher ground. The good news was that some of the fights resumed after a few hours as the runways were dry and checked by then (Japan's efficiency is very high). Car parks at Tokyo Disneyland were also affected by the waves. People were evacuating from the tsunami all over the world, with residents in Tokyo evacuating on train tracks. At least one man was missing in the US when the tsunami arrived at America. Boats at the dock in Tokyo and California were swept away by the merciless waves or were capsized. One entire train was missing in Japan, while boats were also missing in the same country. Rescue troops from Japan whom were at Christchurch returned home to help. There was also another earthquake hitting a part of China lately, with Yunnan being the most affected area. America president Barrack Obama has said that if Japan needs any assistance, the country will be able to help.

Although Japan has gone through many earthquakes, this was the most serious one, more serious than you can ever imagine. As for now, what we can do is support the victims mentally as students. Let's hope that Tokyo will regain from its current plight as soon as possible.

Adapted from Channel Newsasia and The New Paper