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Tsunami Rolls Across Pacific as Fifth Largest Quake on Record Strikes Japan
Tsunami waves swamped Hawaii beaches before dawn Friday but didn't cause any major damage after devastating an earthquake-ravaged Japan and sparking evacuations as far away as the U.S. western coast.
Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian islands hit by the tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over a break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area's high-rise hotels.
The tsunami, spawned by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan, slammed the eastern coast of Japan, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control. It raced across the Pacific at 500 mph - as fast as a jetliner - though the waves roll into shore at normal speeds.
In Guam, the waves broke two U.S. Navy submarines from their moorings, but tug boats corralled the subs and brought them back to their pier. No damage was reported to Navy ships in Hawaii
Waves are predicted to hit the western coast of the United States between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. EST Friday. Evacuations were ordered in parts of Washington and Oregon, and fishermen in Crescent City, Calif., fired up their crab boats and left the harbor to ride out an expected swell.
President Barack Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is ready to come to the aid of Hawaii and West Coast states as needed. Coast Guard cutter and aircraft crews were positioning themselves to be ready to conduct response and survey missions as soon as conditions allow.
Significant aftershocks continue in Japan. Up to 300 people have been found dead in the coastal city of Sendai. Evacuations occurred near a nuclear plant after a reactor cooling malfunction. Other power plants and oil refineries have been shut down and commuter trains are stopped. One passenger train is unaccounted for, and a ferry boat carrying 100 people may have been swept away by the tsunami.(Sources: Roll Call, Wall Street Journal))
As the Lord leads, please pray now:
- For the recovery efforts in Japan mounted by local citizens and personnel from the U.S. military.
- For those still in the path of the tsunami as it crosses into the U.S. coastal waters.
- For the many who have suffered losses. For families who have lost loved ones; for others whose property losses are unsurmountable.
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