A boy looks at an award certificate that he found among debris after an earthquake and tsunami struck Ofunato City
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Japan's most powerful earthquake since records began has struck the north-east coast, triggering a massive tsunami.
Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo.A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant, where pressure has exceeded normal levels.Officials say 350 people are dead and about 500 missing, but it is feared the final death toll will be much higher.In one ward alone in Sendai, a port city in Miyagi prefecture, 200 to 300 bodies were found.In the centre of Tokyo many people are spending the night in their offices. But thousands, perhaps millions, chose to walk home. Train services were suspended.Even after the most violent earthquake anyone could remember the crowds were orderly and calm. The devastation is further to the north, along the Pacific coast.There a tsunami triggered by the quake reached 10km (six miles) inland in places carrying houses, buildings, boats and cars with it. In the city of Sendai the police found up to 300 bodies in a single ward. Outside the city in a built-up area a fire blazed across several kilometres.Japan's ground self-defence forces have been deployed, and the government has asked the US military based in the country for help. The scale of destruction from the biggest quake ever recorded in Japan will become clear only at first light.
Deadliest earthquakes
27 July 1976, Tangshan, China: est 655,000 killed, 7.5
12 Jan 2010, Haiti: 222,570 killed, 7.0
8 Oct 2005, Pakistan: 80,361 killed, 7.6
31 May 1970 Chimbote, Peru: 70,000 killed, 7.9
Source: USGS
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