An 8.8 quake hit the northeast coast of Japan a few hours ago. There was a 10m tsunami that followed it. My son, daughter-in-law and grandson live just outside of Tokyo. I've heard from him, but he can't contact his wife or the nursery where my grandson is. I'm hoping it's just because of power cuts. There are no reports of serious damage to buildings in and around Tokyo.

They are saying that nuclear power stations are on fire.

There are quite a few fires in and around Tokyo, but nothing too major. Got a mail a few minutes ago from my daughter saying she had spoken to her sister-in-law and they are all safe and well.

There are tsunami alerts for much of the Pacific rim- from New Zealand and New Guinea to Hawaii, and the entire coast of the Americas. Hopefully the waves will peter out before they do any damage.

I have a friend whose wife is from the area of the quake. No news as yet, but fingers crossed.

There are many fires but the nuclear plants are all either shut down automatically or safe.We have many tour parties there and await news. It is a tribute to the organisation and preparations Japan put in place that the skyscapers in Tokyo, for instance are fairly intact and there is damage but could be worse. The area round the actual earthquake is another story. Now we are all waiting for the tsunami. We even have a warning here that waves will hit. The main worries are for poor countries like Indonesia(again) and the Philippines. Terrible, especially when the Chinese province of Yunnan was hit badly yesterday by another earthquake.

One of the nuclear plants is on emergency alert so not all is well.

I can't see where it says there are leaks , Sue. This above quote came from a local station. Nobody seems to think the leaks are any larger than the ones occuring all the time. I suppose stories are conflicting and the situation is changing. One station says the NZ authorities now called off the Tsunami alert. What to believe?

My thoughts are with everyone xxx

Same from here.

All of western North America is under a "Tsunami alert" and they're preparing for the worst in Hawaii.

Reports say they just found 200 to 300 bodies lying on the beach in Japan. Such a tragedy.

From The Guardian:

I've been watching BBC and CNN for most of the last 5 hours. The current story is that cooling mechanisms for one of the nuclear plants has failed. So far, the plan is to vent steam (at some future point, which is why they're not asking anyone to leave just yet) to relieve pressure. How much radiation will accompany that steam is undetermined. And yes, downtown buildings seem to be sort of okay for the most part (whether they have power or water is another matter), but 4 trains have gone missing along with cars, boats, houses, the entire university and several schools. Judging from aerial film footage of the tsunami istelf shown so far, I can't even imagine how high the losses may end up being.

The sun is just barely up in Japan, so I think we're all going to have to wait awhile for some of the info/facts to get sorted out. Apparently all land lines and cellphones were down for quite some time and for awhile the only way information/contact was being made was through internet/skype.

What is truly amazing to me, is that although the population density is very high and concentrated and despite confusion and obvious terrible devastation, there doesn't appear to be a lot of "panic" going on (and least not yet).

My heart goes out to all.

No. 1 son has been in touch. They don't seem too badly affected where they are (just SW of Tokyo). I'll find out more later when I talk to him, power cuts permitting. The devastation along the NE coast is horrific. There is a possibility of the two power plants going in to meltdown, as happened at Three Mile Island. A Chernobyl scale disaster is not on the cards. The reactors were shut down in plenty of time. It's just a matter of trying to keep the cooling water circulating.

Glad to hear you've been in touch with your son, RMG.

It's just been shocking to see and hear all the news reports. Such devastation.
I dunno - I know they'll need lots of help along the way but I just have a feeling that the Japanese are a resourceful bunch and will find ways to come back bigger and better from this.

I also found it so weird to see the affect of the tsunami on other coutries. Hard to imagine the force involved to make a wave thousands of kilmetres away!

According to Wikipedia, an earthquake the size of Japan's (8.9) would have as much power as blowing up 336 megatons of TNT (as an example, when Texas Stadium was imploded, it may have taken about 24-32 oz or 0.68-0.91kg to implode the stadium).

I'm sure the little island I was born on is also not in the best of shapes (Okinawa).

Had a Skype chat with them yesterday morning. All are fine. My daughter in law is worried about her family though. She hasn't been able to contact them since Friday. They live just 50 miles away from the nuclear power station, which now has further problems. The family were probably evacuated shortly after the quake because their house was virtually destroyed. Due to disruptions with the phone networks it may be some time before we find anything out.

That is so worrying,RMG. I hope you get some good news soon.

All that heartache

Daughter in laws family are OK. She got a call from them this morning. They have little power and water is coming from the rescue centre.

Glad to hear that, RMG.

Any new news from those near the problems on the nuclear power plants? I think we are getting unreliable reporting here. My prayers remain with everyone there.

Thank goodness they are safe Bob.

It is wonderful news Bob
As to the Nuclear Plants , it seems as if they are trying desperately to sort it and cool down the bits that need cooling with seawater. They do send out a constant stream of information about it, which is more than can be said for the Republic of China, our Big Bro, who cover up as much bad news as they can, eg mine disasters, plane/train crashes etc.

So glad to here that your son and his wife and family are safe. I'm just riveted to the TV and internet on this horrible situation. My heart goes out to all those that are suffering.

Things are not going well at the Fukushima power plant and the winds are blowing towards Tokyo. Son and Grandson are already on their way to Osaka. Daughter in Law has stayed behind. She is a nurse and can't be spared.