The big pictures: The moment Japan's cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:12 PM on 11th March 2011
Japan was today plunged into chaos after a cataclysmic earthquake sent merciless tsunami waves rushing through its helpless streets.
The unforgiving tide of water unleashed after one of the biggest quakes in recent history obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its path.
As the death toll soared, dozens more countries braced themselves for similar scenes of destruction as the full force of the mother nature powered through the Pacific ocean.
Vortex: A helpless ship is caught in the middle of a raging whirlpool which sucks debris into its jaws as it swirls near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki
Washed away: Where there was once a coastline populated with homes and factories, powerful waves triggered by the tsunami devour anything in their path. Only a scattering of trees remain
Trauma: Two residents in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble over a snapped road moments after the quake struck while right, a young woman wells up as the true scale of the trauma that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent
Collapsed: Three shocked workers look at the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima that only a short while earlier they had been working inside with dozens more unsuspecting colleagues
Doomed: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs stranded homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck
Gone: The same scene just moments later shows how the entire residential
area of dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving
waters which swept away anything in their path
Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake
Shock: A young couple at a bookstore in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as around them the building rocks from the force of the devastating earthquake while in Tokyo, black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake
Emergency: The fear is written on the faces of Tokyo's residents as they don white helmets and protective masks outside their workplace moments after the quake struck
Concerned: Two office workers in Tokyo brace themselves for a potential disaster as the earthquake rumbled buildings and smoke can be seen rising from skyscrapers outside
Effects: A mother and her daughter watch nervously as pools of water from burst pipes encroach on the pavement in Tokyo while, right, paramedics carry away casualties from a nearby building that was rocked by the earthquake
Red alert: Flames engulf homes that were hit with the full force of the tsunami in the Miyagi region of north eastern Japan
Debris: An eerie mist sweeps across the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters in Kesennuma in Miyagi, northern Japan
Explosion: Flames reach hundreds of feet into the sky after a natural gas facility in Chiba near Tokyo explodes after the earthquake, while right, a fire tears through residential houses in Yamada in northern Japan
Swelling: The murky flow of mud and debris trapped in the tide of water washes over the tarmac car park at Sendai airport in northern Japan
Destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours after the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck this morning
Cold: Elderly women who are likely to have experienced a number of earthquakes in their lifetime sit on the street as they take in the most recent disaster which is one of the worst in recent history
Stuck: Stranded commuters inside Tokyo railway station prepare themselves for a long wait as the city, where infrastructure is designed to withstand disasters, recovers from the earthquake
Aftershocks: A frail elderly man rests under a blanket as all around him the country is gripped by the full scale of the earthquake and right, young Japanese people evacuated from buildings at risk of collapsing wrap blankets around themselves
At risk: Confusion spead amoung passengers who were taken off planes at Narita International Airport in Naita city, suburban Tokyo
Pile-up: New cars ready to be shipped are stacked on top of each other after the water gushed through Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture
Shock: The full destructive power of the earthquake is evident in this concrete road in Fukushima prefecture that was snapped in half by the disaster
Destroyed: The remains of houses are surrounded by broken wood and concrete after flood waters engulfed Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture
Explosions: Giant fireballs rise from a burning oil refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture after being shaken by the earthquake off the coast
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While appreciating the horror of the Japanese earthquake, surely the UK cannot be expected to send money to what is a highly prosperous country with a better standard of living than our people have? I know I will get red arrowed, but it seems we give a knee-jerk reaction to disasters around the world and want to give money that we can ill afford.
- LesJo, London, 11/3/2011 15:19
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