A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast triggered Pacific-wide tsunami alerts in at least 20 countries, including the US, as the Japanese government declared a nuclear emergency after failed attempts to cool the reactor at a power plant Friday.

A major explosion hit a petrochemical complex in the northeastern city of Sendai just hours after the biggest earthquake in Japanese history triggered a devastating tsunami Friday, media reports said.

TV images showed huge orange balls of flame rolling up into the night sky as fires raged around the complex.

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A huge fire also engulfed a Cosmo oil refinery in Iichihara, near Tokyo, as the quake caused huge disruption to Japan’s key industries.

Sony suspended production at its six plants in Miyagi Prefecture, which was hard-hit by the magnitude 8.9 quake, and its neighboring Fukushima Prefecture, the company said, adding that it evacuated all employees there.

Nissan said that it suspended operations at four plants, with small fires breaking out at a facility in tsunami-hit Fukushima and Kawachi County that were later extinguished. Two employees suffered injuries, it said..

Police in Japan’s tsunami-hit Sendai region said Friday that between 200 and 300 bodies were found on the coast, news agency Jiji reported. The victims appeared to have drowned as a result of the wave, according to NHK television. The death toll was expected to rise considerably as emergency services workers accessed wave-hit areas.

Whole towns in Japan’s north were swamped by a wall of water when a 33-foot (10-meter) tsunami slammed into the nation’s Pacific coast following the offshore quake. At least 35 aftershocks have struck Japan following the first quake, and experts said 13 of them were greater than magnitude six.

The quake was the biggest Japan has experienced since records began, eclipsing the 7.9-magnitude Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo in 1923 and the 6.8-magnitude quake that hit Kobe in 1996. The quake was the world’s seventh-largest on record, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake struck at 2:46pm local time about 237 miles (382 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the USGS said, at a depth of 15.2 miles.

A ship carrying 100 people was swept away off the northeastern coast, police said, and there were local reports of at least 200 people being caught in a landslide in the province of Sendai — one of the worst-affected areas. A passenger train with an unknown number of people aboard was unaccounted for Friday in tsunami-hit coastal Japan, according to Kyodo News.

A huge fire also engulfed a Cosmo oil refinery in Iichihara near Tokyo as the quake brought huge disruption to Japan’s key industries.

Sony Corp. suspended production at its six plants in Miyagi Prefecture which was hard hit by the quake and its neighboring Fukushima Prefecture, it said, adding it has evacuated all employees there.

Nissan said it had suspended operations at four plants, with small fires breaking out at a facility in tsunami-hit Fukushima and Kawachi County that had since been extinguished. It said two employees had suffered injuries.

Japan has asked US forces for assistance in the rescue and cleanup operation. The European Union also announced it would “mobilize all appropriate assistance” for Japan.

The United States on Friday urged its citizens to avoid all travel to Japan after a massive earthquake struck the island nation.

“The Department of State strongly urges US citizens to avoid tourism and non-essential travel to Japan at this time,” a statement said, pointing to disruptions to transport and continued aftershocks.

The travel alert runs until April 1. The State Department also asked US citizens in Japan to confirm their well-being.

US President Barack Obama issued a statement expressing his “deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis.”

“The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial. The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy,” he said.

He added: “We will continue to closely monitor tsunamis around Japan and the Pacific going forward and we are asking all our citizens in the affected region to listen to their state and local officials as I have instructed FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to be ready to assist Hawaii and the rest of the US states and territories that could be affected.”

US vice president Joe Biden added, “The thoughts and prayers of the American people … are with our friends in Japan,” who he said suffered through a “mega-earthquake. We the United States stand ready to do anything we can to help our Japanese friends as they deal with the aftermath of this tragedy.”

The Pentagon confirmed that American personnel in Japan were all safe and accounted for. The US State Department said it had moved its embassy operations in Japan to a new location.

FEMA administrator Craig Fugate issued a statement which said that it was “closely monitoring the affects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.”

“FEMA is closely monitoring the affects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan early this morning, and through our regional offices in the West Coast and in the pacific area, we are in close contact and coordination with state and local officials and stand ready to support them in any way needed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy,” the statement read.

The statement continued, “We are in close contact and coordination with state and local officials and stand ready to support them in any way needed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy.”

Fox News reported that the US military evacuated some personnel posted to low-lying areas to an elevation of at least 30 feet.

In an unusual move, Google put a tsunami alert on its home page following the quake.

“Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others,” said the message placed below the internet search box. “Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan.”

Google also launched a crisis response page which includes a “person finder” in English and Japanese. The service allows users to ask for information or provide information about individuals. By 2:00pm GMT, it was tracking around 5,300 records, AFP reported.

Tokyo’s Narita airport has partially resumed flights. Officials from the airport said some departing flights were now taking off from the airport, but that it was not accepting arrivals.

Around 10,000 people were stranded at Narita, and 1,100 at Sendai airport, which saw its runways submerged by sweeping black floodwaters.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Ewa Beach, west of Honolulu, earlier issued a widespread warning extending across virtually the entire Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Antarctica and South America. Hawaii is some 4,000 miles east of the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake.

The Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said that a small tsunami reached Indonesia’s eastern coastline without causing any damage.

Other countries covered by the warnings include Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

Ecuador has ordered preventive coastal evacuations, with Pacific Latin American nations from Mexico to Chile issuing tsunami warnings.

Kenya’s meteorological department issued a tsunami alert to residents of the country’s coastal region but said waves reaching the Indian Ocean coast would be weak.

The Hawaii warning was closely followed by warnings and alerts issued across California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

The Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska reported that the warning was in effect from Point Concepcion, in central California, to the Oregon-Washington border and parts of southern Alaska.

The center warned that the first waves would hit at the Oregon-Washington border at 7:12am local time and in Point Concepcion at 7:57am local time.

Earlier, Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan urged people to remain calm amid the tragedy.

“I ask the people to act calmly while listening carefully to information from radio and TV,” he said. “We should all help each other to minimize the damage.”

(Source: Newscore)