Tokyo’s Narita airport has been closed and tsunami alerts issued along the Pacific coast this morning as an 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit the country.
At least 32 people have been killed and many buried in landslides. Four million homes are without power.
A 33ft tsunami has hit the northeastern coast of Japan carrying cars and buildings through the streets.
A tsunami warning has been issued to cover most of the Pacific including Hawaii, US west coast, Alaska and South America. Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand were also on alert.
The US West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre said that any tsunami generated by the earthquake off the coast of Japan would hit Hawaii at around 2.45am (12.45pm GMT) and the US West Coast at 7.45am (3.45pm GMT).
Reports claimed holidaymakers in Waikiki were being urged to move to the upper floor of buildings in case a tsunami hits.
“Earthquakes of this size are known to generate tsunamis potentially dangerous to coasts outside the source region,” the US National Weather Service said.
Reports suggest the Japan quake was 100 times more powerful than the one that hit Christchurch in New Zealand last month.
Both BA and Virgin Atlantic have cancelled their daily scheduled flights today as a precautionary measure as the situation develops.
A Virgin service from Tokyo left the country before the quake hit and is due back in the UK this evening.
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