Death, devastation grip Japan following quake

A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks struck the eastern coast of Japan March 11, 2011, triggering tsunamis that devastated the coastline north of Tokyo.

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March 12, 2011

An elderly woman is assisted by rescue personnel in Sendai, the area hardest hit by Friday's quake. At least 1,000 people are believed to have died in the quake and its aftermath.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

The Miyako City Hall in Iwate Prefecture is surrounded by rubble swept in by the tsunami waves.

/ AP

March 12, 2011

A woman learns that her mother was successfully rescued from a building in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

Japanese soldiers work on rescue operations in Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AFP/Getty Images

March 12, 2011

Debris lines the streets in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

People on a rooftop await rescue in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.

YOMIURI / Reuters

March 12, 2011

Rescue workers search for survivors in houses in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

People evacuated from a nursing home near the Fukushima Daini (No. 2) nuclear plant settle into a temporary shelter in Koriyama. A 10-kilometer (6.3-mile) radius around the plant was cleared as a precaution.

KIM KYUNG-HOON / Reuters

March 12, 2011

A man photographs the tsunami aftermath in Sendai, the hardest-hit area.

Junji Kurokawa / AP

March 12, 2011

An aerial view shows a cluster of vehicles swept together by tsunami waves in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Atsushi Taketazu / AP

March 12, 2011

Deep cracks are visible in the snow-covered ground near Sendai.

JO YONG-HAK / Reuters

March 12, 2011

A vehicle is stranded in water at an intersection after tsunami waves washed across Sendai's coastline.

JO YONG-HAK / Reuters

March 12, 2011

People survey the extensive damage in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture.

KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP/Getty Images

March 12, 2011

A boat under construction was pushed ashore next to homes in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AFP/Getty Images

March 12, 2011

This scene in Sendai was similar to others in northern Japan, where multiple buildings collapsed after the huge quake Friday.

Koji Sasahara / AP

March 12, 2011

Japanese officers step carefully in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

Residents from the area near the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear plant receive a meal at an evacuation center in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture. A 20-kilometer radius was cleared after a roof at the plant exploded Saturday.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

Cargo containers were tossed together by the tsunami waves in Sendai.

Itsuo Inouye / AP

March 12, 2011

A train was derailed in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture.

/ AP

March 12, 2011

Two bridges, the one at left was under construction, lie in ruins in Namegata, Ibaraki Prefecture.

/ AP

March 12, 2011

A long line forms at a water station set up at a park in Koriyama.

/ AP

March 12, 2011

A Japanese fighter jet normally housed at an airbase in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, was tossed into a building Friday.

KYODO / Reuters

March 12, 2011

People head toward a shelter in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture.

/ AFP/Getty Images

March 11, 2011

Satellite images taken by Taiwan's National Space Organisation (NSPO) show Japan's Sendai area before the earthquake, left, and after, when tsunami waves cleared vast swaths.

/ Reuters

Officials in protective gear check for signs of radiation on children who are from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Koriyama.

KIM KYUNG-HOON / REUTERS

Police wearing protective clothing and respirators head towards the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in trucks in Minamisouma City, Fukushima Prefecture.

HO / REUTERS

A soldier carries an elderly man to a shelter in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A child is rescued from a building in Kesennuma, northeastern Japan.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AP

Rescue workers look for survivors while going through debris in Rikuzentakada, Iwate Prefecture.

YOMIURI SHIMBUN / AP

A landslide covers train tracks near Echigotanaka Station in Niigata Prefecture.

/ AP

A boy reads a newspaper reporting on the earthquake at a shelter for evacuees in the town of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture.

KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A man sits in an evacuation center at Namie, not far from a nuclear power station in northeastern Japan.

/ AP

Students of a junior high school are evacuated on a rubber boat by policemen after being trapped in their school following the massive earthquake in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture.

STR / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A oil leak from the Nippon Oil Corp. Refinery is seen after a tsunami and earthquake in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture.

YOMIURI / REUTERS

Thick smoke rises from a town in Miyagi Prefecture after the earthquake and tsunami.

KYODO / REUTERS

Workers who were stranded in their offices when the massive tsunami hit Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, finally get a chance to leave. Sendai was one of the worst-hit areas.

Junji Kurokawa / AP

The tsunami has left this neighborhood in Sendai flooded.

KYODO / REUTERS

These vehicles in Ofunato, in Iwate Prefecture, were tossed around and shoved together by the tsunami.

/ AP

Residents walk through debris to find shelter in Sendai.

/ AP

Batteries are in high demand in Sendai and elsewhere on Japan's eastern coast.

Koji Sasahara / AP

In Iwate Prefecture, a group awaits rescue on a rooftop.

KYODO / REUTERS

A helicopter crew rescues an elderly person who reached the roof of an elementary school and waited there.

KYODO / REUTERS

A father and child who lost their home look at what their city of Sendai has become.

/ AP

Stranded airline passengers try to rest on the floor of Narita International Airport, near Tokyo. Nearly 14,000 had found that their flights were canceled, but a handful of flights later departed. Although Narita wasn't damaged by the earthquake, railway lines were disrupted, so employees couldn't get to the airport. Some U.S.-based airlines had also canceled some flights.

Greg Baker / AP

The tsunami has left this neighborhood in Sendai flooded.

KYODO / REUTERS

The power of the tsunami upended vehicles, including this one in Orai, northeast of Tokyo

YURIKO NAKAO / REUTERS

People line up outside a market in Sendai for basic supplies.

JIJI PRESS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Fire rages at a factory in Sendai.

KYODO / REUTERS

A stranded resident, in the center of the photo, is airlifted out of a sea of destruction during a rescue operation in the village of Noda village.

/ AP

Soldiers pull a boat across floodwaters while helping to evacuate residents of the city of Tagaio, in Miyagi Prefecture.

JIJI PRESS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

People in Miyagi Prefecture wait to be rescued.

KYODO / REUTERS

Smoke rises from burning facilities in an industrial zone in Tagajo.

/ AP

There is widespread destruction in Minami Soma, in Fukushima Prefecture.

Kyodo News / REUTERS

Police wearing protective clothing and respirators head towards the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in trucks in Minamisouma City, Fukushima Prefecture.

/ AP

In Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture, residents survey the destruction caused by the tsunami.

Kyodo News / AP

Members of the Japan Self-Defense Force help people evacuate the city of Sendai, where streets are covered with debris.

/ REUTERS

The tsunami ravaged aircraft and vehicles in Natori.

/ REUTERS

A powerful tsunami wave strikes Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. The tsunami slammed into its eastern coast, killing hundreds of people as it carried away ships, cars and homes, and triggered widespread fires.

/ AP

A massive tsunami engulfs a residential area in Natori.

KYODO / REUTERS

Evacuees stand around Shinjuku Central Park in Tokyo. At least 2 million people were without power in Japan's capital.

KYODO / REUTERS

People line up to use public telephones at the Shibuya station in Tokyo following the earthquake.

YOMIURI / REUTERS

Stranded travelers rest on the floor at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo after the earthquake.

Wally Santana / AP

Vehicles are crushed from a collapsed wall at a parking garage in Mito city in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan after the massive earthquake.

JIJI PRESS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Boats are swept by a wave after a tsunami and earthquake in Asahikawa, Japan.

YOMIURI / REUTERS

Residents watch the devastation of a tsunami that smashed vehicles and houses at Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.

STR / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A tsunami smashes vehicles and houses at Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.

STR / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Airplanes and vehicles sit among debris after they were swept by a tsumani that struck Sendai airport in northern Japan.

/ AP

$A worker inspects a fractured section of the Joban Motorway near Mito, Ibaraki prefecture, after the largest earthquake recorded in Japan slammed the country's eastern coast.$

A worker inspects a fractured section of the Joban Motorway near Mito, Ibaraki prefecture, after the largest earthquake recorded in Japan slammed the country's eastern coast.

/ AP

$A worker inspects a fractured section of the Joban Motorway near Mito, Ibaraki prefecture, after the largest earthquake recorded in Japan slammed the country's eastern coast.$

A worker inspects a fractured section of the Joban Motorway near Mito, Ibaraki prefecture, after the largest earthquake recorded in Japan slammed the country's eastern coast.

/ AP

Waves approach the Hirono Power Station after an earthquake in Hirono town, Fukushima prefecture in Japan.

YOMIURI / REUTERS

A tsumani triggered by a powerful earthquake makes its way through part of Sendai airport in northern Japan.

/ AP

Water floods Sendai Airport after a tsunami that was spawned by an earthquake in northeastern Japan.

KYODO / REUTERS

This video image shows an aerial view of a tsunami wave as it moves to shore in the area of Natori City.

/ AP

A massive tsunami hits the coastal areas of Iwanuma, Miyagi prefecture in northeastern Japan.

KYODO / REUTERS

Houses are damaged by water following a tsunami and earthquake in Ibaraki, Japan.

YOMIURI / REUTERS

Residents check the damaged on a house in Sukagawa city, Fukushima prefecture.

FUKUSHIMA MINPO / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Fires burn in the port area of Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture following the massive earthquake.

KYODO / REUTERS

Cars jam a road at night following an earthquake in Sendai, Japan.

KYODO / REUTERS

Natural gas containers burn at a facility following an earthquake in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo.

KYODO / REUTERS

Seismologist Bernd Weber of Germany's Geoscientific Research Institute GFZ in Potsdam shows a map with information about the earthquake in Japan.

FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS

Rescue workers hurry to a building following reports of injuries in Tokyo's financial district after an earthquake off the coast of northern Japan.

KIM KYUNG-HOON / REUTERS

In this image made off Japan's NHK TV video footage, vehicles are washed away by tsunami in coastal area in eastern Japan.

/ AP

Women wait on the street after evacuating a building.

KYODO / REUTERS

Tsunami swirls near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki prefecture after Japan was struck by a strong earthquake off its northeastern coast.

/ AP

Houses are aflame while the Natori river is flooded over the surrounding area by tsunami tidal waves in Natori city, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, after strong earthquakes hit the area.

Yasushi Kanno / AP

People evacuate to a street following an earthquake in Sendai, northeastern Japan.

KYODO / REUTERS

A policeman runs across a street as people stand outdoors after evacuating from buildings in Tokyo's financial district.

Toru Hanai / REUTERS

People stand outside a building following the quake in Tokyo.

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

People continue to work in an office after tremors from a massive off-shore earthquake shook the building and knocked over a row of cabinets in Tokyo.

HIROKI 'DUKE' KOBAYASHI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Commuters wait at Meiji Jingu Mae Station after train services were suspended after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Tokyo.

Koichi Saito / GETTY IMAGES

Commuters wait in a long line at a bus terminal outside Yokohama railway station, southwest of Tokyo, following a strong earthquake that hit eastern Japan.

Shuji Kajiyama / AP

Water from the massive tsunami remain on the street of Hakodate city in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

STR / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Commuters make their way after train services are suspended after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Tokyo.

Koichi Saito / GETTY IMAGES

Houses are swept away by water following a tsunami and earthquake in Natori City in northeastern Japan. A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit on Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a 33-foot tsunami wave along parts of the country's coastline. There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.

KYODO / REUTERS

Train passengers walk on the elevated track toward Shiodome Station near Tokyo Bay shortly after the earthquake.

Koji Sasahara / AP

Natural gas storage tanks burn at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city, Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo.

STR / REUTERS

Black smoke rises from a burning building in Tokyo after the earthquake.

/ AP

A building burns after the earthquake in the Odaiba district of Tokyo.

KYODO / REUTERS

Overturned boats are seen after being washed ashore following a tsunami in Hachinohe.

REUTERS TV / REUTERS

A screen grab taken from news footage by Japanese public broadcaster NHK shows the flooded Sendai Airport.

STR / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

People are seen on a rooftop as a tsunami engulfs Sendai airport, in this image taken from video footage.

REUTERS TV / REUTERS

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