Tsunami headed for US after 8.9 earthquake hits Japan

A huge 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a
23-foot-tall tsunami that has devastated parts of the country. Now,
Hawaii, Alaska and much of the West Coast are expected to be hit by
the powerful waves.
A horrific 8.9 magnitute earthquake about 80 miles off the coast of
Japan triggered a devastating tsunami that crashed into the island
nation at about 2:20 am local time today. The deadly wave, which
measured 23-feet-tall, has killed at least 60 people, and injured
countless more. Blackouts caused by the quake spread as far as Russia
and South America. Parts of the United States, including Alaska,
Hawaii and much of the West Coast — from Washington state to the
California-Mexico border — are now in danger of a possible tsunami
hit.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued
a tsunami warning/advisory for Hawaii, the West Coast and Alaska.
Walls of water as high as 6-feet could begin hitting Hawaii as early
as 3am local time (5am PST). By about 7am PST, the tsunami could begin
to hit parts of Oregon, followed by the Washington and California
coasts. NOAA officials say the waves to hit the West Coast should be
relatively small, and are expected to cause no major damage.
To view a complete list of expected tsunami strike times, click here.
In Japan, the situation is far worse. According to the United States
Geological survey, the 8.9-magnitude quake is the fifth largest
earthquake on Earth in over 100 years of recorded history. Cars, boats
and houses were swept away as the resulting killer wave spread its
path of destruction, which covered a 1,300-mile stretch of coast line
that affected dozens of cities and villages.
The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency at a nuclear
power plant after a cooling system failed. Eleven of Japan's nuclear
reactors were shut down immediately following the quake.
A number of Japan's major industrial plants have been shut down in the
wake of the disaster, including factories of Sony, Nissan, Toyota,
Honda, and beermaker Sapporo, Bloomberg reports. One Honda worker was
killed after a wall collapsed on top of him. Thirty other workers at
that factor suffered injuries. Several employees at a Panasonic
factory were also hurt in the quake.
Here are some online resources for keeping up-to-date on the disaster
in Japan, and the tsunamis expected to hit US shores:
Japan:

NY Times live blog (with YouTube video updates)
Japanese Ustream channel (live video)
Wall Street Journal live blog
MSNBC live blog
Google crisis response

Hawaii:

KHON 2 (local news video stream)
KITV live blog
@HawaiiRedCross
@HawaiiNewsNow

Washington:

KOMO 4 Seattle
KIRO 7 Seattle

Oregon:

KATU 2 Portland (live video)

California:

KRON 4 San Francisco
KABC 7 Los Angeles
KSWB 69 San Diego

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