A massive earthquake of the magnitude of 8.9 on rector scale has hit the east coast of Japan, creating massive damages in the cities and places along the coastal areas. Though the authorities have reported only fifty deaths till now, but the toll of dead and casualties are expected to increase in the coming days.
The earthquake has led to formation of 30 feet high tsunami waves which are crushing on the northeastern coastline of Japan. The giant waves are pulling the cars and huge buildings into them. Even in Tokyo, which is 230 miles away from the epicenter, most of the telephone lines are down.
Tsunami warnings have also been given to the people staying along the coastline of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Hawaii and Philippines. United Nations has said around 30 search and rescue teams are ready to go to Japan and start the rescue operations. This is considered to be the biggest earthquake of Japan since last 140 years. The last big earthquake was held in 1923, which killed 140,000 people in Tokyo.
Thousands of people staying along the coastline in the East Asian countries have been asked to evacuate and the worst part of the news is that another big earthquake of big magnitude may hit the same place within a few hours.
Earthquakes are common in Japan because it is located in one of the most seismically active areas of the world. As a result, about 20% of the earthquakes of the world are held in Japan.
