[VIDEOS & EARLIER UPDATES IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

2:39PM EST: An estimated 6.6-magnitude earthquake has struck Nagano and Niigata prefectures in Japan, Kyodo news service reports.

12:44PM EST:  Reuters reports that at least 1000 people have been killed in the devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan. The death toll is expected to continue to mount.

10:54AM EST: At least 137 killed, 539 injured and 351 missing after quake, according to Kyodo News.

9:48AM EST: 60,000 to 70,000 people were being evacuated to shelters in the Sendai area of Japan, according to Kyodo.

9:29AM EST: USGS has measured 67 aftershocks with a 5.0 magnitude or above in Japan since the quake – click HERE.

9:12AM EST: The tsunami waves that have hit Hawaii “are not going to be a major damaging event” but will cause scattered damage, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Waves of nearly 8 feet have been reported Friday on the island of Maui.

8:57AM EST: Police say between 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the coastal city of Sendai alone, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported late Friday.

8:55AM EST: The first waves from a tsunami spawned by a massive earthquake in Japan have reached Hawaii, but observers report no early damage and only a “slight rise” in water levels.

Hotels across Hawaii are evacuating tourists to higher floors as the islands brace for a three to six-foot tsunami in the wake of an 8.9 earthquake in Japan earlier today. Some flights were diverted from Honolulu International Airport but it remained open; airports on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island were shut down as a precaution.

8:39AM ST: Some cooling functions at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant are not working and authorities are “bracing for the worst,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday. There is no danger to the environment, but authorities have ordered the evacuation of a few thousand people who live closest to the plant, the Kyodo News agency reported. Others who live nearby have been urged to stay indoors, Edano said.

8:20AM EST: The waves have started hitting Hawaii – details to follow.

6:24AM EST: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie made the following statement from the State Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center:

“Residents should take this tsunami warning seriously. All state and county agencies and law enforcement are doing what needs to be done to ensure public safety.

“This is a time to be sensible and act with aloha. Please be mindful of your neighbors, especially for the elderly who may need kokua at this time. If you are in a tsunami inundation zone, please make your way to higher ground or go to your nearest shelter.”

6:20AM EST: White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley notified President Barack Obama about the situation in Japan around 4am Eastern. Obama released the following statement two hours later:

Michelle and I send our 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 unshakeable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy. 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 to be ready to assist Hawaii and the rest of the US states and territories that could be affected.

5:31AM EST: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive wave filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward land. Japan’s prime minister said Friday’s quake caused “major damage” in northeastern Japan, but that nuclear power facilities in the area were not damaged and there was no radiation leakage.

5:11AM EST: A utility company in northeastern Japan has reported a fire in a turbine building of a nuclear power plant after an earthquake shook the region. Tohoku Electric Power Co. says smoke was observed coming out of the building, which is separate from the plant’s reactor. The company says there have been no reports of radioactive leaks or injuries.

4:35AM EST: Tsunami warning issued for Hawaii, Pacific Basin and the U.S. West Coast after 13-foot wave slams northern Japan following massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake. Coastal residents in Hawaii are being evacuated as a wave of undetermined size expected to hit 7:59 a.m. ET.

3:42AM EST: Officials said California could see small waves  Friday morning resulting from the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan. Cindi Preller of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center told Fox 11 News that the tsunami could cause some unusually high tides but not major inundations.

It’s possible that officials will ask that beaches be cleared as a precaution. She added that the situation on the California coast might be similar to the aftermath of last year’s Chile quake. That quake caused some small waves but caused no major damage.

The latest alerts cover Japan, Russia, many Asian countries and Pacific islands including Hawaii as well as many South and Central American countries such as Chile, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Colombia.

In Hawaii, officials expect a wave could hit at 2:59 a.m. Hawaii time (4:59 a.m. PST).

 3:39AM EST: Russia evacuates 11,000 residents of far-eastern Sakhalin Island and nearby areas in anticipation of tsunami.

3:38AM EST: IF YOU ARE USING A MOBILE DEVICE, CLICK HERE & HERE & HERE TO WATCH INITAL TWO VIDEOS.

3:27AM EST: (Orgeon Live) A tsunami watch was issued for the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California as well as parts of Alaska.

A wave is on its way from Japan and is expected to hit between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. — about 7:05 a.m. for the Washington coast, 7:12 a.m. on the southern Oregon coast and 7:24 a.m. along the California coast, forecasters say.

Early predictions indicate a wave of less than 3 feet.

That could cause low-level flooding, depending on the tides, as well as hazards for boaters, said Bill Steele, a University of Washington seismologist with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

“Stay away from the beach,” Steele said. “Be smart about it. The water has a lot of power. Pay attention to your local emergency managers.”

 2:41AM EST: (CNN) An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering tsunamis and sending a massive body of water filled with debris that included boats and houses inching toward highways.

The epicenter was 231 miles away from the capital, Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said. But residents there felt the tremors.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers toward highways.

In Tokyo, crowds gathered in the streets and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.

Scenes inside office buildings showed papers strewn all over the floor and people clinging onto seats and desks.

Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

It caused a power outage in about 4 million homes in Tokyo and surrounding areas.

A tsunami in the Pacific was moving closer to other shorelines in other countries, said CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.

It triggered tsunami warnings for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.

“Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region,” it said.

“Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter.”

The quake was the latest in a series in the region this week.

Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the coast of Honshu.

A day earlier, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off of Honshu, the country’s meteorological agency said.

The largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said.

FIRST REPORT 1:30AM EST: An 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Japan early Friday, triggering tsunami warnings and sending people fleeing out of buildings in the capital.

The quake rattled buildings and toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. In Tokyo, crowds huddled together and tried to reach relatives via cell phone.

Its epicenter was 373 231 miles from Tokyo, the United States Geological Survey said.

It triggered a tsunami warning for various countries, including Japan and Russia, the National Weather Service said.

“Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region,” it said.

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