global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news -- news. >> the morning after, japan struggles to deal with two disasters of staggering force and skate. a massive queark, -- earthquake, then a tsunami. officials confirm 200 dead but expect the numbers to rise sharmly. and there is a worry about damage around the if you can if you can power -- fukushima power plant. we take you inside zsa zsa -- war isia -- for a look at the fiercest fighting in lebia.

for sheer terror and destruction, the awesome scale of what the natural world can do to us, perhaps only volcanos come close. the japan earthquake, one of the biggest the world has ever seen. it struck off the coast near the city of sendai in the late afternoon. tsunami alerts were declared in several countries. alan little reports. >> how suddenly it strikes. mortal danger descends almost in the blink of an eye and without warning. it is terrifying. in an instant, there is chaos.

then from the vastness of seat there is a threat more menacing still -- a wall of water more than 20 feet high advances across the ocean at speeds of up to 500 miles an hour, the speed of a jet aircraft. japan's tsunami defenses are among the best in the world, about but the tsunami is immovable, unstoppable, overwhelming everything in its destructive progress. 30 it redusse a house to matchwood in seconds. a car disappears into the deluge with its rear windscreen wiper still on. the quake struck at 2:46 local time in the middle of a normal working day. imagine being in this office in sendai when this happened. nor -- for a moment they freeze, immobilized by panic. then, a frantic scramble for

shelter. and the quake goes on and own and own. for hundreds of miles around, office blorkss shopping centers, and homes were shaken from their foundations up, spreading terror. >> when it really started to get seriously shaking i thought, i could quite possibly die now. i don't know if i can get down the stairs in time to reach the bottom floor. my wife screamed down my ear because she was working in one of the buildings in tokyo. >> japanese people are taught from early age that earthquakes

are part of life and from an early age the training kicks in at a vital moment. but more destructive still was the awesome power unleashed in the depths of the ocean, the tsunami. each cubic meter of water weighs a ton. its momentum sweeps away and smashes almost anything in its path. as it advances inland, it becomes a vast, silty churn. these are agriculture tunnels being swallowed up. there are cars, shipping containers, parts of buildings in the swirl. no one knows how many homes have been damaged or destroyed but it is certainly many thousands. not everyone got away on time the tremors from the biggest yeark -- earthquake ever recorded in this country were

felt in parliament. >> it was a very strong earthquake and damage was been inflicted over a wide area. i offer my deepest sympathy to the people who have suffered the disaster. >> damage to japan's infrastructure gives yet more cause for concern. east of tokyo, this oil refinery caught fire and blades out of control, threatening to spread to residential suburbs nearby. thousands of local people had to be moved out of their homes. and what has happened in the country's nuclear industry? four of japan's 11 nuclear reactors were shut down automatically. the u.s. navy delivered coolants to one nuclear plan 150 miles north of tokyo to prevent overheating. tonight the government warned that to reduce pressure in the plant, a smail amount of radioactive vapor would have to be released but insisted there was no risk to the public.

japan's trance port infrastructure has in places been devastates. at-bat sendai airport, the tsunami crept up the -- up the run woib to the very boarding gates of the tubel. passengers took refuge on the roof. people crowded into bus stations for buses that were going nowhere. the bbc's tokyo correspondent, roland burk, witness the -- wissed the -- witnessed the frustration of stranded passengers. >> there are thousands of people, millions of people, on the streets of tokyo tonight. all trains have been suspended. 9 official advice is to stay where you are. but after the shock of this afternoon's earthquake, many people just want to get home. >> dawn has already broke enin japan.

-- broken in japan. there was another large aftershock earthquake in the north. now it is time to assess the damage that this earthquake can inflict. >> and japan authorities have declared a nuclear emergency and evacuated people in a 10-mile radius from the fukushima number one plant, about 250 kilometers north of greater tokyo. that is a point of view backed up by this professor. >> there has been exhaust being let out, but as i said earlier, the racket -- reactor itself is not leaking. it's containment vessel or the building after containing the

containment vessel may have suffered some damage and that is raising the radioactivity levels outside of their containment vessel. so people within a 10-kilometer radius will be evacuated. >> do you have any advice to them? >> well, the levels being monitored right now will not have adverse effect on the human body. therefore i ask people to remain calm as they evacuate. >> professor sakamoto on nhk there. rogue and buerk has experienced this earthquake as well as reporting on it. but this, he told me, was something else. >> when you live here you do expect earthquakes and certainly we have always felt tremors fairly preg -- regularly. but what happened yesterday afternoon here was on a different scale.

the ground was scol -- rolling and shaking, the buildings were shaking, creaking and cracking came from the skyscrapers abottom of dawn is breaking over japan and slightly closer to a complete pitch roof, it's becoming clear what has taken place. there is one town completely de stroirksd a town of 33,000 people. others coming out, at least 1,200 homes have been completely destroyed, a university campus has been destroyed and some schools have been. remember, this quake struck in the middle of the afternoon. japan railways said it's had no contact since the tsunami with four trains that were running in the coastal areas. the official count is thousands

missing or dead but i fear that will rise. >> many people have just spent a terrible night after a terrible day. and the issue with the nuclear power plant is one but there are also dams having problems. >> yeah, one particular are power plant at fukushima, the cooling system has failed. what we understand is that the engineers are doing or planning to release some steam to try to reduce the pressure inside the reactor of that plant. they are playing down the risk of that but saying that a small amount of radiation could be released when that happens so that's a big challenge to the authorities too, to resolve that. elsewhere in miyagi prefecture, around sendai, the city that seems worst hit, there's a very

large fire that's been burning throughout the night. several square kilometers in a built-up area. >> i don't know if this makes you very lungy or unlucky but -- lucky or unlucky but you don't need me to remind you you were in the asian tsunami of 2004. can you give us a sense of what that's like? >> unless you experience a tsunami it's impossible to imagine the poush -- power of the water. it's not the height -- 10 meters in this case -- it's the speed and the weight and pressure as it bears down on you and hits up. i remember from the south asian tsunami cars being thrown up into trees fanned buildings falling over. in this one we've seen the power of that from aerial pictures, cars and boats and houses being swept along in the sea, eating up the land at a very terrifying pace. it's not something you can run

away from. when it hits you, you have to make sure you are lucky and you are the -- hope that you are the one that survives. >> the earthquake was 8,000 times more powerful than the one that hit christchurch, new zealand recently. the tsunami was moving about 800 kilometers an hour. the country has a long history of battling with these forces in the pacific rim. >> in the distance, a first, terrifying sight of the huge wave surging inland. literally nothing can stop it. houses are just crushed. first came the earthquake, now the tsunami. this is a double disaster and even the large building in the fore ground is descroid in -- foreground is destroyed in an instant. according to this official, the waves did not decrease in size,

they kept coming and the cycle lasted about an hour. japan is all too familiar with earthquakes. arch of theas dots -- each of these dots marks a quake. pr at this divide the highly active tech tomjanovich -- tectonic plates are active. a sudden jolt triggers the tsunami, lifting the ocean floor and the massive wall of sea water above it. >> all that mament -- amount of land has suddenly moved by several meters. that's an enormous amount of movement. it's an enormous amount of energy. >> the waves surgeryag cross the pacific led to a full alert. dozens of countries feared they would be devastated. but as each hour has passed and

the tsunami has reached furg there have been no reports of further damage so far. there have been lucky escapes. this fishing vessel somehow survived the waves. and there have been some very disturbing sites -- a giant whirlpool and a small boat caught inside it. david shipman with that report. do stay with us on bbc news. much more to come. shock, horror, and devastation. dramatic pictures from the earthquake and tsunami, coming up p. >> first, though, the united states secretary general ban ki-moon has said the united nations will do anything and everything it could to help the situation. >> are -- shocked and saddened by the images coming from japan

this morning. therefore on behalf of the united nations i want to express my keep -- deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the japanese people and government and most especially those who lost family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. japan is one of the most generous and strongest benefit he factors coming to the assistance of those in need the world over. in that spirit, the united nations stands by the people of japan and we will do anything and everything we can at this difficult time. we will be watching closely as the aftershocks occur across the pacific and southeast asia throughout the day. i sin signler hope that under the leadership of the prime minister and the full support

and solidarity of the international community, japanese people and government will be able to overcome this difficult time as soon as possible. >> ban ki-moon, the u.n. secretary general. remember, for all the latest news on the situation in japan and across the pacific, you can get it on our web site. you will find extraordinary features there, bbc.com. you will find an eyewitness account of the skeanl minutes after the earthquake hit. that's on bbc.com/news. >> latest head lines for you this hour. japan is struggling to deal with disasters of staggering force and scale. a massive earthquake and tsunami, not to mention a fire, a colossal whirlpool and now radiation leaks. 300 people are confirmed dead but officials say they expect

that death toll to rise very sharply. world leaders have been quick to offer their condolences and assistance to the people be drg of japan. the shall the president said he had spoken to the prime minister and offered any help needed. >> snap -- japan is one of the richest countries on earth. even so, it will need help overcoming a disaster of this magnitude. with cars and planes scatter add a -- about like toys, they need heavy lifting equipment. >> the images coming out of japan are simply heartbreaking. on behalf of the american people i conveyed our deepest condolences, especially the victims and their families, and i offered our japanese frerneds whatever assistance is needed. >> the president seems more

comfortable taking the lead on this than he has on the situation in libya the a u.s. aircraft carrier and four other ships including the seventh fleet's command vessel have been sent. there ways big mission after the earthquake in haiti. obama is determined to have the world see the u.s. use its powers for more than just fighting wars. >> we need to do anything and everything we can at this difficult time. we will be watching closely as the aftershocks hit across the pacific throughout the day. >> the west coast of america was braced for the worst as giant waves headed across the pacific. people were told to get to high ground. so far several ships and docks

have been evacuated -- have been smashed. people were told to get to high ground. >> i have such a close personal friendship and connection to the japanese people in part because i grew up in hawaii where i was very familiar with japanese cute -- culture. that just makes our concerns that much more acute. >> the president said this tragedy was a reminder that ultimately humanity is one and that japan lp come back stronger than ever with help from its friends. >> president obama has also said the world has an obligation to prevent any massacre of civilians in. the u.n. declared after much arguing that the situation in

lickia ask -- libya is important. our middle east editor has been there. >> almost a week after the rebel group said it had captured zawaria we were allowed to visit. the square the rebels used as 9 core of their protest has now been captured by gaddafi's men. there are signs of the fight -- a building damaged by shell power, bandaged with greerning the clol of colonel gaufed's libya. his gun was a toy. the others weren't.

other. center of the rebellion in the tripoli area, was full of secret police. the regime is hated by many but it's tightening its grip here too. the crackdown is continuing. we've just been confronted with some kind of plain clothes officials who want us out of the area now. they are sweeping us up and taking us somewhere else. once potential witnesses were out of the way there was another show of force to intimidate would-be protesters. much further east in brega, they're feeling the pressure of the regime too. this was the town's small hospital 24 hours oofplg the rebels are outgunned by gaddafi's man, and the regime seems to be outthinking them

too, using its resources effectively to move hard against the rebellion. today the doctors were leaving. reports from the front line are con cuse -- confused, but with gaddafi's men move pg forward, they aren't taking any chances. >> it's not safe. there was a raid here and we were targeted and it's not safe here. we cannot work. >> outside, up to now neither side has had the power play to overwhelm the other but without foreign help, the morale of the rebels, one of their strengths, is taking a toll. holding on to what they have is tough enough. there have been protests in the east of saudi arabia where demonstrators were calling for better treatment for the country's minorities. in the capital, riyadh,

protests were expected but a heavy police presence was the only sign of unrest. one person's been shot dead in yemen where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters marched in stays cross the country, demanding not -- the removal of the current go. the united nations refugee agency is saying about half a million people have now fled the advisory coast -- ivory coast. one reporter was told there were bodies in the streets of the main city the pr well, there have been harrowing stories from those who lived through the quake in japan and the refment here are just some of the voices after today's dramatic events. >> the closest experience i could use is trying to stand on

a skateboard. it literally felt as though the ground was being yanked out from our feet like a rug. most earthquakes in tokyo are a quick shudder, but this went on for over a minute and it was impossible to stay on your feet. >> it went on for five or 10 minutes. i was under the table. really scary. i've experienced lots of quakes here before, but nothing like this. the wife of one of mip co-workers, she still can't get in contact with her family. if people are quite worried, quite scared. >> the building was swayed many times and the ceilings were damaged. there are piles scattered. we couldn't stand p -- up so we

hide under the desks. it was horrible. i know when the quake first hit, i ran to the middle of the road and i thought some people were going to get run down by cars just because they were panicked. everybody that was panicked on the streets, even though they've felt quakes before, they felt this could be the big one. this was very different in feel >> the most striking thing about this earthquake is the length of time that the swaying continued for. you had relatively damage, but seeing this, it was just, it's blowing my mind. it's terrifying. >> we were all under the table kind of holding hands, waiting it out. i wasn't really thinking about anything other than surviving because there was this very real sense of panic and confusion. >> voices and extraordinary images from japan from the past

few hours. you will find much more on that and all the international news any time on bbc/.com. thanks for being with us. >> go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth reporting of "bbc world news" on line. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation the the jon -- john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. ♪?

union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by