the pacific plate. he floor beneath the ocean is constantly shifting. >> it's a pretty large system. it's moving pretty fast. the pacific plate is moving under japan at about ten centimeters a year. which is a pretty high rate. >> reporter: trillions of tons of earth moving four inches a year is a lot, an irresistible force meeting an unmovable object. >> and you do that for a hundred years, you're talking about a big amount that you've got to... >> reporter: compensate for. >> and when it pops back it produces the earthquake and the tsunami because it's doing it under the ocean. >> reporter: japan's level of seismic activity is about ten times that of california. the country has spent billions trying to make itself earthquake-proof. today's video showed buildings in shinjuku swaying but not collapsing. the u.s. has started to install shock absorbers under buildings as well, but has some catching up to do. >> nobody's ever prepared for this kind of earthquake, but compared to japan, probably we're not ne

for the entire pacific region again. just to reiterate what i said earlier the latest death toll is at twenty nine at the moment we expect it to increase and there's a warning again by issued by the pacific tsunami warning center it goes a spark a why is expecting a major earthquake saying the tsunami could damage the coastlines of all islands in hawaii and it could go as far as it's a warning is as far as the west coast of the u.s. as well as south and central america but we have been asking a marine geologist about what might happen now now boris levitt tells us that well judy the sheer size of japan's earthquake eight point nine and the chances of a repeat tsunami wave are slim. very. very soon over three. hours. if there's. three off from their own. where you. are you sure are. we. going to be if there's a very. very few. well let's go back to libya and the effects of the political turmoil unfolding there will be fighting is picking up pace leaving the country's ravaged oil industry in the firing line well both sides

caused by an eight point nine magnitude earthquake that struck one hundred thirty kilometers off the pacific coast aftershocks have been felt within the last few minutes and so far twenty three people are confirmed dead but that number has been rising and is expected to rise now there are also reports that the first wave has reached russia's karylle islands to the north reportedly around a meter high those waves of around a meter high but as you can see the pictures you have massive lulls of waves just eating up everything in its path of the devastation in the devastation there about two hundred people have reportedly been washed away several others missing entreprise. is part of the country that's closest to the peace center of course the damage the quake itself was also felt in tokyo and farson injuries widely reported there are still trying to calculate the economic costs which are infrastructure and right now you're looking at an oil refinery that is a blaze in ishihara chiba prefecture and these are still having a hard time containing the blaze has been going on for quite some time now

these come across about 600 miles per hour across the pacific. in a energy just being transferred all along the coastline. we are watching out for the possibility of tsunamis along up into the washington down through much of california. we are going to be watching this over the next couple of hours. of course it should shortly hit hawaii and that's going to really give us a good idea of just what kind of tsunami we should expect on the west coast. that should happen in the next hour. we buoys in the pacific, as well. we'll get a better handle on what to expect along the west coast. stay tuned, folks. we have to watch this very closely. we have more coming up in a few minutes. back to you. >> thank you, lawrence. >>> now, every bay area county has its office of emergency services up and running this morning. p and running this people want people particularly near the coast and the by to stay tuned to the news for the latest updates. anne makovec is at low-lying crissy field this morning in san francisco and joins us with the latest. >> reporter: th

ground thousands are fleeing ground as powerful aftershocks continue as considerable damage and the entire pacific region is on tsunami other as. a powerful earthquake in japan is affected the country's fragile economic recovery infrastructure is paralyzed with even for your own sony hold their operations will bring you more on that in our business bulletin. just he still says retake key areas from rebel groups the locals warn it is that media exaggeration is stoking foreign intervention nato seats are moving closer to libya's shores joy need for you sneer in a few moments for more. of our warm welcome to this is ours the line from moscow with me alice said that our top story now northeast japan has been swung by a major tsunami an entire pacific region is now on alert it was caused by an eight point nine magnitude earthquake that struck one hundred thirty kilometers off the eastern coast sending a reported ten minutes a wall of england causing more widespread devastation thirty two people are confirmed dead but that number is expected to rise with the wave has also reached russia's could all isla

after making its journey across most of the rest of the pacific ocean. it is impacting the coast of south america. >> is impacting in any major way? >> not in an extremely major way. it is probably still going to be a hazard in some places along the coast of south america. we are probably looking at amplitudes no greater than maybe one or 2 meters above normal. >> which countries have been most affected apart from japan? >> hawaii, certainly. we had some impact here. some flooding of coastlines, they are having some impact on the west coast of the united states with a damaging and minor flooding. the major impact that eclipses everything else what is happening elsewhere is what has happened in japan. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine

earthquake the biggest in nearly a century and a half as alarming warning is in place for almost the entire pacific basin they point nine a magnitude quake off to pansy's to coast unleashed the massive ten meter high waves which reached miles and that was a huge damage authorities say at least forty four people are confirmed dead but that figure is almost certain to rise significantly the disaster caused very injuries and spot fires warnings have been is used to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas the state of emergency has been declared our nuclear power plant in the northeast of japan after its cooling system failed no radiation leak has been reported but the area around the plant is being evacuated there were several strong aftershocks following the earthquake in tokyo widespread panic was reported the capital's transit system was entirely paralyzed a tsunami warning has been issued across the pacific including russia south america the u.s. canada and indonesia. as. well dr robert jacob said professor of nuclear history and culture of the hiroshima peace the disuse says nuclear powe

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

they are the eurasian, philippine and pacific plates. today's earthquake was right there, 80 miles offshore. the edge of the pacific plate in the middle got wedged underneath the eurasian plate. that's called subduction. this grinding of plates pushes up the ocean floor which can, in the view of some, generate this massive shock wave. that shock wave ripples out and creates the actual tsunami, traveling at 500 miles per hour. as that tsunami travels toward the shoreline, it hits the continental shelf right there. . the waves bunch up and get much higher. we want to show you what it looks like from noaa's perspective. the black area right here off the coast of japan, that is where the waves were the highest,30 feet. the tsunami then travels to the east. hawaii, about 3800 miles away, you can see there the waves were about seven to eight feet high, minimal damage. then the waves continued on to the east and of course hitting the pacific coast. we want to tell you also that japan is one of the most earthquake-prone nations in the world, acco

as it goes over the pacifics the ships would not notice it. it's when it moves closer toward shallow land. they get closer toward the coast. again, it will hit hawaii first and it will wrap around. it's not just one wave but it will wrap around. when that would happen it would be 3:00 a.m. our time. if it does arrive it would be around 8:08:00 a.m.. for now we go to jade hernandez. she is along the coast. >> reporter: i have to tell you we just learned a command post has been set up three minutes from here at a nearby high school. five different fire departments will converge to aid the pacific of fire department in case of possible evacuations. no evacuations have been made so far this morning. no plans have been made to evacuate. of course there are preparations being made just in case. the tsunami warning was called 45 minutes after midnight. i spoke to a couple residents who seem to think that waves are pretty normal for the shift in tides at this point. but with a tsunami warning there is a possibility of flooding. waves are expected to c

watching the colder and the pacific that will be the whether maker for us come friday.0 forecast has friday are next big whether day. it will drop are snow levels down possibly down to 3,000 ft.. for less than showers heavy on friday, to be written off for the remainder of the weekend. let's find out about your ride. >> erica: we have a hot spot in the westbound direction of 580. this is approaching livermore we have a multi vehicle crash involving multi injuries. it looks like one of the cars maybe still blocking lanes. at last check we saw back up with speeds at 40 mi. an hour, now we're down to 21. no other hot spots are slow spots to tell you about around the bay area. the approach to the bay bridge toll plaza traffic moves well from all three approaches. picking up another camera for you conditions are good here on the bayshore freeway of 1 01 in the northbound direction. and looks to be missed the out there but traffic is still falling freely despite the wet roads. >> mark: santa cruz police have arrested a man suspected in the 20008 rate. the arrest of a man susp

the whole pacific region including russia's far east is on the tsunami alerts of massive waves threaten two weeks of it beyond the japanese coast . and following news of the quake japan's nikkei tumbles almost two percent to end friday's session on a five week low and sending a shockwave because global markets will be on this in twenty minutes time. did all the news libya's grip find more volunteers our citizens can all be done in school says push the rebels back the proportion attacks using rockets and tank shells. nato and the e.u. stand divided over libya with some demanding the resignation of colonel gadhafi all those the urging foreign countries to stay out join me daniel bushell for all the latest from both sides later in the pulitzer. a very warm welcome to you this is r.t. live from moscow with me alice have a will let's begin with the breaking news first this hour there's been up lost in the north east of moscow a reports suggest a parked car has exploded on a street close to a met. the interfax news agency is quoting with this is a saying there were two explosions well there w

the whole pacific region including russia's far raised his own tsunami alert is not siblings threatening to wreak havoc beyond the japanese codes. tremendous damage is done to jeff economy and also shock wave of sense across markets all over the world russia being no exception japan's nikkei going down to five week lows more about twenty minutes time in our business from. developing news libya's grip by more violent clashes is colonel dunphy's pull things push the rebels has reported it time seems rockets and tank shells nato and the e.u. stand divided over libya with some demanding the resignation of colonel gadhafi all those urging foreign countries to stay out join me daniel bushell for all the latest from brussels later in the fall it's a. very warm welcome to this is our scene live from moscow one story dominates this hour northeast japan has been swarmed by a major tsunami caused by a massive earthquake the largest in the country's recorded history. least ninety five people are reported dead but that figure is almost certain to rise significantly a train is also unaccounted for in

expect the same on the other pacific ocean when the other waves ari. it won't be just a single wave that will crash but it will be activity that can last for some time.ded period of cc1: so anyone who is in an area that's being affected by a tsunami warning should take it very seriously and go to high ground and stay there until an all-clear is founded. >> bill, just curious update folks, 8.9. the usgs' just revived the earthquake upward, believe it or not, upward. misspeakingcc1: here, an 8.9 earthquake. bill, could you explain why the number -- why the number changes? we had 7.9, 8.8. what is changing that the number changes? >> caller: it has do with the from 1:waves that arrivecc the earthquake. the very first waves that arr e arrive. it takes time for these longer period waves to propagate and so as theythcc1: arrive we can then go in update the estimates so it took maybe 5 minutes from the initialcc1: assessment. 7.9 major earthquake to recognizing that this is in fact the great earthquake. the largest earthquake that we know it. >> explain the d

sendai capital ships region the same areas a massive explosion at a crude chemical plant and the entire pacific region is now on alert for the eight point nine magnitude quake off japan's eastern coast on leash the massive ten meter high waves which reached miles inland causing huge damage it's triggered major fires will take your has been all but shut down millions are without power a phenomenal boarding house that is huge across the pacific including russia south america the u.s. and indonesia ways that already hit parts of hawaii but there's not any major danger that. which one has declared a nuclear power emergency after the cooling system failed either plants out of the machine last following the earthquake in the northeast we're now joined by an expert on chemicals. that was the top up about well threat very many parts of being with us here on auntie's and how serious is the danger at this time. the problem is they're actually very serious because we're talking could be possible destructions of the chemical plants and also the atomic force stations and as to the chemical plant the air did

due to this location, called the pacific ring of fire. and quakes are pretty much a regular occurrence there. because of this, japan's building codes are some of the most strict in the world. those codes were reformed and strengthened after an earthquake in 1995. that caused major damage in the city of kobe. >>> as you can imagine, we have teams working around the globe on this story. we'll have complete coverage on a special edition of "good morning america" coming up >>> welcome back, everybody, to "america this morning." as you can see there, we are following a major international story this morning. overnight, shortly after 1:00 a.m. eastern time, 2:46 p.m. local time in japan, a major earthquake struck the northeastern part of that country and has now triggered a major tsunami that's washing away boats, cars, homes, businesses. the extent of the damage and the death toll is rising at this point. but still unknown, as we begin to finally get glimpses in the coming hours, if not days. the extent of the damage and destruction being done

hour now here in moscow on top story northeast japan has been swamped by a major tsunami and the entire pacific region is now on alert it was caused by an eight point nine magnitude earthquake that struck one hundred thirty kilometers off the eastern coast sending a reported ten me so wall of water in the causing widespread devastation well thirty two people have so far been confirmed dead by the japanese or fourteen but that number is expected to rise with those wave has also reached russia's little islands to the north reportedly around a meter high in japan we know that two hundred people have reportedly been washed away with several others are missing in japan's a sendai city where tokyo has been all but shut down as well with fires in injuries widely reported there as well millions are without electricity we know that the tsunami warning has extended to the number of pacific southwest asian and latin american nations including japan and russia as we were saying indonesia new zealand and chile back in japan are these international airport that's also been closed as a result of the governmen

the other one is the tsunami warning all round the pacific right now. but its role some video, more damage in the downtown areas, on the eastern coast. you can see the cracks on the sides of the buildings. they will have engineers out there looking at the stability of all these buildings. they will assess whether they will be red tag or if people can go back in. a lot of apartment buildings impacted by this. they have built up more vertical because they don't have the live space. land. space. >> reporter: i've been living here for eight years now, this was simply the biggest, longest laughlasting earthquake. >> james: they have looked back at the records for 300 years and have not seen an earthquake this magnitude get. a magnitude 7.3 hit two days ago on the eastern coast. that quake was centered 267 mi. of tokyo. the shaking lasted as long as three minutes. now we have this one this morning. there was a 5.8 that left 25 people dead in china, displacing thousands of people it has raised questions about whether or not the buildings were built by code. so

or for more on the effect it's having in the wider pacific region including russia's far east has talked to our correspondent and he said now we any so what's the latest information that we're getting from russia's cycle in region those state of emergency has been declared in the cycling region that includes the very vulnerable real islands where the stores have already been struck by several tsunami waves are there are reports that those waves have reached heights at least visually of up to three meters high now there's been there's been no damage or any reports of facilities or buildings being affected as well as any kind of injuries or victims but authorities are taking very serious precautions some eleven thousand people are said to be being iraqi waited hour as we speak out of the cycle the region to our higher points to safety and also ships that were our imports they are being moved out to open seas as a precaution and also tsunami cleanup forces are being put on standby throughout the far east. i know president medvedev said that russia is doing all it can obviously to protect it

the upper atmosphere across the pacific ocean and if it's the wind is going that way it may leave you any problem in eastern russia in a million any problem in. the korean peninsula but it could well bring someone on a radioactive fallout on north american continent on the west coast of the united states so. he wants that radiation is released into the atmosphere that's the problem it's good for some people have a close one million good for some people if it blows another way but those are. but that's not a good situation if what we're counting on is who gets exposed and which way the radiation blows. daughter ought to take as a research associate professor of history and culture at herat for peace instantly has speaking to us first of all to stay with our team throughout the day as we keep you abreast of all the latest developments taking place in japan. topping the salad the arab league has backed the idea of a no fly zone over libya on a night in front of member states agree to ask the u.n. security council to impose the restriction suggested by the u.k. and france but as clear rep

the pacific, north american, your region, and philippine. when these plates grind together, the friction can trigger an earthquake like the one that struck japan on friday afternoon local time. there are many potential sources of this version of around the pacific rim. this area is of the ring of fire because of a number of active volcanoes along these tectonic boundaries. 90% of the world's earthquakes occur there, with japan situated in the danger zone. >> all right, we're joined by a member of the german research center for it geosciences. what can we expect in the next few hours? are we talking about more aftershocks? of course, we had the tsunami. >> the tsunami is moving in already hit taiwan, indonesia, hawaii, and already off the coast of oregon and parts of california. so far, the significant destruction has been reported from these tsunamis. i think it is safe to expect that along the coast of the pacific, we do not have to expect too strong destruction that all. however, japan is completely different. we will have to expect very st

the u.s. pacific command is doing everything in our power to assist the japanese people in this hour of need. i extend best wishes in representative giffords and mark and hope she's back soon fulfilling her duties as a member on the committee. talking about china and the rise of china as, you know, we consider the rise of china, and i want to emphasize as i had a conversation previously about the importance of dialogue between the chinese and the u.s. sides. both myself and mr. schiffer participate in dialogues with the chinese, usually with the pla's who we talk with, and i think the dialogues are beneficial, yes, they are scripted in a certain degree. there is a degree that we tend to hear the same points coming back from the chinese, but the fact we're able to meet and actually have a dialogue together is important. one of my responsibilities is to function on the maritime consultant agreement, a meeting with the chinese to discuss operational safety in the international air space and off the coast

disaster in the pacific. >>> good morning to all the viewers in the west. the earthquake that hit japan overnight is devastating. the largest ever in japan. 1,000 times more powerful than the one that hit a couple week ago. >> you are looking at pictures the tsunami. wiping our entire trains we're told have been swept away. we're hearing reports of big boats with as many as 100 passengers on board swept aboard. and several hundred people are reported dead but we are hearing reports of thousands upon thousands missing perhaps dead as well. the japanese coast guard is searching for ship with 80 people onboard. and other rode waves into cities slamming into overpasses as you see there. >> state of emergency in japan. they are concerned about the nuclear power plant. the fail-safe mechanisms did not work. of that's heating up right now. let's listen to what it felt and sounded like. it's something. [ random background noise ] >> the quake was off northeastern japan. the violent tremors were felt all the way to tokyo for 30 minutes, george. after the quake stopp

territories in the pacific. let me repeat that: we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska, or u.s. territories in the pacific. we've also deployed some of our leading experts to help contain the damage at japan's nuclear reactors. we're sharing with them expertise, equipment, and technology so that the courageous responders on the scene have the benefit of american teamwork and support. >>darya: president barack obama is saying that the u.s. needs to learn from it that japan increases. there are more than 100 nuclear reactors in the u.s.. they provide 20 percent of our electricity. >>mark: we will be right back. coming up, and announced that for the beta breakers. >>darya: data breakers is not until may. it is already sold out. you cannot to get an entry form any more. this is the first time this has happened. you're looking at two months before the race on may 15th. they have announced that all of the spots are taken. you are supposed to get one of the spots but they ar

territories in the pacific. let me repeat that. we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. territories in the pacific. >> the president asking americans to stand down from their alarm. and at the same time, the u.s. is deploying radiation detectors up and down the west coast to make sure this is the case. neal karlinsky in seattle tells us about them. >> reporter: it may not look like much, but if radiation from japan makes its way into the air over the western u.s., this sensor south of seattle will be among the first to know it. >> this disc right here that you can see is the filter that is monitoring, that is pulling air through it. >> reporter: the federal government has 100 of these sensors running around the clock, covering about 70% of the country's population. they send data directly to computers at the epa, and so far, they have detected no increase in radiation. >> there's a lot of space between here and japan, so, we don't expect an impact here, but we want to make sure. >

territories in the pacific. let me repeat that. we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. territories in the pacific. >> the nuclear fall out is our top story tonight at 7:00. john is live in oakland hills where he has been gaging. >> reporter: whatever is coming into california will come from the pacific ocean. everyone we talked to seems concerned about the dangers from a radioactive plume. >> reporter: at oakland's fire station 1 the home of the city's office of emergency services the officials say the radiation from japan is not a threat to northern california. >> we see little or no threat to any health concerns or any direct harm to anybody in the bay area. >> and in downtown oakland it is hard to find anyone who was worried. >> i think it is inconsider at that people are taking the iodine tablets when we should send it over to japan. >> is there anything i need to do? anything i can do? no, nothing to do. >> reporter: one man expressed concern and doubts what the government h

and countries across the pacific area including russia south america the u.s. and engineering which are have all been put on alert for any tsunamis headings their way of one of the first waves have now reached america's brain and any major threat appears to be fading for more let's cross to argue worse course for down it if you can get it what's the extent of the danger for the united states. well as of now the situation on the u.s. coast looks encouraging to you as islands of hawaii have been forced to be hit by some of the first waves of the tsunami but of course it looks it lost its power along the way from the epicenter of the earthquake off the coast of japan there have been no reports of this structured very hawaii and of fears of a strong destructive impact on the u.s. the west coast but of course the mission and now that we know that the first little bit first waves that hit the u.s. the name of the west coast and that is the state of oregon and we can say for sure that it's not ass. as it was previously thought it would be the experts say the impact is

in the country along the pacific side things will remain settled and quite mild. across the korean peninsula, dry conditions will really continue to prevail across the region. high pressure system is firmly in control for the northern tier of china, as well. across the south, we are going to be dealing with chilly precipitation, heavy bouts of rain, including that for central and southern portions of china and for the philippines, too, more showers to come. a lot of thunderstorms and heavy downpours, especially in the southern sections of the country. we've got 18 degrees in hong kong. 12 in shanghai. 11 beijing. not too bad. average here. and chilly 5 in seoul. now for the americas. a major storm system is moving across the central portions of the u.s. this is going to be bringing widespread snow again across the midwest and is separate system across the pacific will be spreading plenty of snow across the pacific northwest. so british columbia, canada looking at 15 centimeters of snow and also across the great lakes looking at significant snowfall again. now, furt

coast of hokkaido the central part of the pacific coast of hokkaido the western part of the pacific coast of hokkaido the coast of ebon arche prefecture the coast of new prefectures both of. the coast of what are you are not prefecture the coast of course she prefecture the coast of meals likely prefecture the outer ocean coast of eastern congo she might prefecture the coast of the trying to go and islands the coast of the. islands but the waves can be up to two meters high in some of the areas mentioned everyone near the coast must evacuate to higher ground to. meet you. think things you type in yeah yeah yeah a show here. food. he. was saying that waves are up to two meters high in the coastal areas and he's requesting evacuation of residents around in the coastal areas affected by two metre high waves let's listen in again. yeah i'm. late for the you know english translation of what's happening he did mention a central and western parts of ohio and other areas prefectures in the coastal areas experiencing to meet her high waves he had requested for immediate evacuation of those ai

and disaster in the pacific. a tsunami carrying away whole neighborhoods still burning. entire towns under water. a special west coast edition of "nightline," starts right now. >>> good evening. to all here in the west i'm bill weir. and perhaps, some of you in coastal communities spent the day like we did, here at the santa monica pier, waiting for a tsunami. but the size of the waves that came, is a tiny reflection of what's still unfolding in japan. where tonight, nuclear officials are warning of a possible nuclear reactor meltdown. they've been watching three facilities near the epicenter all day. at one of them fuel rods are exposed. if they stay that way, they could release radioactivity and a disaster of monster proportions. the disaster in northern japan is just beginning. and an aerial of what was a town of 71,000 people completely under water. no structure still standing. and japanese media is reporting that authority there's have found 200 to 300 bodies on a beach in sendai the center near the epicenter of today's massive 8.9 magnitude quake. but this is just p

all along the pacific coast, the tsunami tore docks apart and damaged boats. some areas were hit much harder than others, such as santa cruz. to explain why, let's check in with . >>> some areas of the tsunami were hit much harder than others. one of those areas was santa cruz. to see why we're gonna check in with lashes. lawrence? >> yay, very interesting. about 19 hours ago, the earthquake struck japan. that set things into motion and before you knew it, that tsunami was hurdling its way across the pacific and then we began to see some of the buoys affected. we saw some waves about 6 feet in maui. by it continued on its track. we watched it and it made its way onshore, focusing, for the most part, in towards the santa cruz area. now, there's a special reason why that happened. we saw some funneling of that energy and all of that energy surging across the pacific, in some casings, in open water, can go as fast as 600 miles an hour. that's simply hauling across the pacific. you get all of that energy from the coastline, slamming up, being a -- being affected b

high above the pacific there. what can you tell us? >> well, just a few minutes ago we saw the waters recede and as you can see behind me they are receding once again. very quickly within the past five minutes they have almost quickly receded. many residents around here very shocked. >> and that was a telltale sign. shopper 5 had -- chopper 5 had these shots. and we saw this. you can see the water beginning to surge onshore into the santa cruz harbor. we were expecting rises between 2 to 3 feet. now, this is not your typical wave. so we are talking about a massive water. all of a sudden rising up as it approaches the coastline and surging onshore with all the energy it started with and roared in through the harbor. something else that caught or eye was the whirlpool. all that water churning in and out. with tsunamis it is not a single wave but a series of waves moving onshore, hitting the coastline moving back out so you see that churning of all that water and that's exactly what happened. we saw some whirlpools happening there. and it

all the way across the pacific in our way. energy has to go somewhere and as you approach the coastline it starts to run into the very shallow waters. and so that start to give some of lift to the moisture and moves it onshore and you will see wave after wave. what you will see is you will see that initial wave begin to make its way onshore. you will probably see that water recede. don't go out toward the water then, folks. that's when we'll likely see another surge of that moisture and that's the when a lot of people of get killed from tsunamis. they think hey this is neat i have never seen the water out this far and they go out to check it out and the next wave gets them. >> it just keeps coming t lose a little steam going the thousands of miles from hawaii to here, though, does it not? >> it attenuates and disperses when it goes across the pacific. that's why the projections for hawaii are larger than here. as you watch in japan, of course, they had a much larger tsunami there. so not as big here but still dangerous. this is

the whole pacific region including russia is a follower used designing tsunami alert as massive waves threaten to rake big belong the japanese caves. and shockwave the skulls of course of global markets to make a closing of the five week low russia no exception the markets are down you have to point out walk into a few minutes down the road. and in other news live years prepon your body clashes as colonel get down keys from the seas push the rebels back these reports of the times using rockets on tank shelves later on the stand devoid of over libya with some demanding the resignation of colonel gadhafi to all those the urgent foreign countries to stay out join me don't you bushel for all the latest from brussels but from the looks of. a very warm welcome to you this is r.t. along leave from here with me analysts have it all one story dominating this hour but all these japan is being swarmed on my own major tsunami caused by i'm not quake the largest and the country's recorded history the entire pacific region is now on alert the eight point nine magnitude quake on feasting coast unlea

it's been surging across the pacific. it hit at 2:40 in the afternoon in japan local time and it's been working towards the west coast ever since across the pacific. folks in hawaii are bracing for it. let's listen a little longer. >> are there any shores similar to waikiki where we would see that as well? >> oh, i'm sure there are. but i don't know, i guess at this point it's not much sense in trying to figure out what's going to could we know something's coming. just wait and see what it is. we keep talking about the wave heights and six feet, eight feet and all this. and it's just impossible, you know? you know something's out there. there's some energy coming. and we'll have to just see how it translates at different beaches and coastal areas. 3:07. we are waiting to hear from our friends on kauai if the waves make it onshore. we are in touch with several hotels out there. these cams are not especially close to the ocean. so i'm not sure we are going to see anything here. it's all we have to look at. >> where are we lo

a lot of moisture still in the pacific we will see more come friday. right now sharing is the rain activity in the north bay peninsula is breaking up is the north bay that is still dealing with some light-modern rain along 101. los you're making your drive stirring townie it will be damned, you'll use your windshield wipers. says bay breaking up even on highway 17 from sids occurs into loss carter's. this is not heavy, we're talking late coming to hundreds of an inch. fairly decent. antioch, up from one, pittsburgh you're dealing with that. and in terms over respecting the rain to go, 5:00 not a lot expected. even as we head toward your drive your morning commute is still scattered up best. even by new not a lot is falling. not really expecting anything more tense and that. the evening commute looks pretty good. you to see the rain activity, it dries out quite a bit. were not expecting a hall light into to mark. a little the chance to drive out. 59 san francisco, 63 concord, low 60s and oakland. san jose, morgan hill 66 degrees. here is a look at your 7

dust particle travel the jet stream across the pacific, make its way basically all the way across the pacific and into the bay area. when it involves radioactive material the it gets a little more complicated. i spoke with dr. thom cohen of lawrence berkeley lab tonight and i quote him he says it is not a significant health concern. so let me explain to you why he believes this. the japanese incident radioactive material is shooting up a good one,000 to 2000 feet up into the air. from meet logical standpoint the jet stream is 35 feet up into the air and so first of all hasn't got there chernobyl was higher than this why it came in on the jet stream. if the material made it to the bay area the earliest would it reach us is three days and when it did, it would be diluted so this is why he's saying it's not expected to reach the jet stream. we are talking about the plume possibly disbursing in the ocean before it even gets here or it could run in a storm and simply wash-out which is why we are not expecting this to be a significant health risk. once again i quote dr. thom cohen who has n

the disaster in the pacific. many towns were simply washed away by the tsunami, including one port town hit particularly hard. >> the small town of minamisanriku is now missing more than half its population and thousands are feared dead. the bbc's alastair leithead was one of the first tv journalists to reach the town and filed this report. >> reporter: from the air it just looked unreal. but close up, the true impact the wave had here on homes, shops, whole neighborhoods is overwhelming. for mile after mile, the tsunami flattened everything. throwing cars aside, pulverizing houses and dragging the debris far inland. 10,000 people are still unaccounted for here. more than half the town is missing. the roads are only now being cleared and the phone lines are down. this family did make it out in time. they came back and were shocked by the damage. "i was in the car with my daughter when everything began to shake violently," she told me. "we rushed back to the house, grabbed a few bags." they then drove up and out of

territory and the pacific. ing experts to will contain the damage. we are sharing expertise, equipment and technology so the greatest response is on the scene of the benefit of the american team work and support. >>pam: jonathan will show us the jet stream. with trace amounts of radioactive material. the source is the power plant. >>reporter: the reactor the could be releasing particles. let me show you through google earth. and it is still unlikely for us to reach harmful levels. this hero is 1 mi. tall, that is at least how high those particles that era tax- indicative on the map. carthe arrow is irepresenting the jet stream. and have to at least get 1 mi. of bothis level to even have an income /+ it. and the good thing is that you can see how the jet stream curves to the north. a big storm brewing. that will bring precipitation. and that was the radioactivity out of the clouds and into the ocean. you can see the air massive near the area, not having an impact. because of the storm, it is dispersing the radar

this happened raid on the zone between north american in the pacific plate. will continue to watch those aftershocks. golden gate bridge, we're watching waves here in our area as well. wave heights are expected to peak just after 8:00, the good news is this is low tide. that does keep those waves down slightly. those waves continue to push down to santa barbara. here's a look at some of those fights, expecting them to get out part of 04 feet up into arena cove. more than 2 ft. waves through. rave. pacifica 2.8, 3 ft. half moon bay. >> darya: thank you, we do want to tell you there have been some evacuation orders issued for the beaches in san mateo county. they are expecting the waves to hit around 730-8:00 a.m. they're asking people to move east of the highway and residents in lin mark are advised to evacuate to the east of adobe drive. an evacuation shelters are being established as well. again, especially when it comes to those shelters this as a precaution, something that is done at of caution. to test the system. this is what should happen, at this case w

now, there's tsunami warnings all over the pacific. 've got hawaii, the west coast, the eastern seaboard of asia. the tsunami waves were as high as 30 feet in some parts of japan. we're going to be following this the entire morning. again, the death toll is at 60, rising every 15 to 30 minutes. 56 are reported missing. that's the official count but we know the number's got to be higher because we've literally seen people running for their lives, driving in their cars, getting away from these waves as fast as possible. live in the news room, jenelle wang, abc 7 news. >> frightening pictures, jenelle. the emergency officials in hawaii are under a tsunami warning now. the first wave from that tsunami are expected to hit about a half hour from now. residents of honolulu were alerted last night and many quickly went to gas stations to fill up in case they had to evacuate. >> trying to get gassed up and being prepared before anything really happens. just to be safe. >> canned goods and everything else. and we have some water, hoping to pick u

any radiation making it across the pacific will only be detected by the most sensitive instruments. >>pam: despite the restaurants, fear is high. people are searching- despite all of the reassurance the thompson spoke with dr. stuart? >> correct. one thing that we have been saying is that masks are not like going to be doing anything. the radiation levels are nothing to worry about. also, to stay inside. and i asked him if that is advisable? in the bay area? taking reaching california. a risk? take it right before, and will be ample>> should people be staying inside? >> at this point, no. we are not in japan, we are in the united states that plume is very predictable. it is doing what it is expected. and very low levels. if there are levels to be concerned about? the shelter would be in place. we would do that if there are chemicals in the air atmosphere. >>pam: with potassium iodide tablets should they have on hand? >> no. if you cannot have them? cannot go get them. and their potency only lasts for two-four hours. taking them ahead of time will not do anything for you. poison cont

. >>> a big chunk of highway 1 has collapsed and tumbled towards the pacific ocean. what crews are saying about how long it will be closed. >> reporter: the waves at mavericks have taken another life this morning. new details about the frantic efforts to pull the surfer from the water. >>> good morning to you. welcome to thursday. it's march 17th. it's st. patrick's day. i'm dave clark. >> good morning. i'm pam cook. thank you for joining us. let's check in with steve paulson. how does the weather look today? >>> good morning, pamela, dave, clear skies. patch or two of fog, some clouds to the north but over us right now clear and cold. 30s showing up. something we haven't seen for a while. sunshine for a while and then partly cloudy skies. if you're northward there are a few showers starting to move through. we'll talk about that plus a big change in our weather for friday. now sal with an update on traffic. >>> steve, right now on westbound 24 looks pretty good getting up to oakland. there are no major issues and the roads are dry in case you're just joining us the c

welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. today we begin with rebels in retreat. opposition forces in libya are in flight once again including the key port of ras lanuf, following a barrage of rockets by moammar gadhafi's forces. meanwhile, secretary of state hillary clinton and defense secretary robert gates are expected to get tough questions today as they brief congress on the mission in libya. steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: as the u.s. role in the libyan air war gets smaller and nato gets set to take over command, moammar gadhafi is not giving up or getting out. his forces counter attack, pushing libyans back, targeting civilians in rebel-held towns. >> gadhafi is using snipers to shoot people down and let them bleed to death in the street. >> reporter: at secretary of state clinton's meeting with u.s. allies in london, topic one was the dictator. qatar's prime minister. >> we urge gadhafi and his people to leave and not to cause any more bloodshed. >> reporter: but so far, it's the libyan leader's call and he say

higher ground as aftershocks continue to shake the country there is considerable damage and the entire pacific region is on tsunami alert. asian equity markets for dragging the region's benchmark to its biggest weekly loss sense all goes to the strong earthquake rocks japan will have more on the global markets are performing in a moment. to diffuse forces retake key areas from rebel groups while locals warn that media exaggeration is still looking for an intervention made to feel so moving closer to libya's choice while here people are still refusing to rule out military intervention join me for you searing a few moments more. live from our studios in moscow you're watching r t thanks for joining us well we go straight to our developing a story a major tsunami has struck a northeastern japan a sending a four meter of wall of water inland which is causing widespread devastation now this tsunami was this which is currently under way was caused by eight point nine magnitude earthquake that struck about one hundred thirty kilometers off the pacific coast aftershocks have been felt within the last

the qdr addresses training in the pacific. general, can you describe the current training in this region and are there any efforts by paycom to lead a comprehensive approach to develop a truly effective solution to training issuing in the future? >> thank you, ma'am. there is an effort on the part of dacom to start an eis which i think the funding is in the current year's budget that would address wholisticly to address paycom across the pacific region, excuse me there. so i think that addresses partially the issues on guam. we've discussed the sighting of ranges of guam and the need of individual training in terms of small arms and those issues and where the broader degrees of training could be conducted throughout the -- throughout the theater. one of our prime considerations, though, as we have discussed is that we maintain ready forces throughout our region. we think that's critical as a deterrence aspect so it's very important at the combat and commanders level we're able to train our marines, soldiers, airmen across their

you can see the clear skies over much of the pacific and down through california. the unfortunate part is that the jet stream is still bringing all that moisture up there into the pacific northwest, that's where it continues to be on the rainy side. it's definitely nice and mild down here from tucson back into areas of arizona, southern nevada and even portions of utah. now the radar, most of the rain once again is on the coast and in the mountains. temperatures are pretty warm, the snow levels are very, very high. it looks like some of the exceptions would be south of seattle driving down interstate 5 to olympia, one area where you'll have to deal with a little bit of rain. the forecast for today, look at l.a., warmest day you've seen in a while, 89 degrees, phoenix at 93, so you got people turning their air conditioners on here while in new england people using their snow blowers. 86 in vegas, beautiful day through central california. the problem areas up in the northwest, where we'll still deal with rain an that's as nice as it gets, low humidity and 81. veronica

. >>> and president obama tells americans there's no threat from radiation coming across the pacific. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> a special good evening to our viewers joining us in the west. while the japanese deal with a staggering humanitarian crisis, they are now engaging in a last-resort effort to stop perhaps multiple meltdowns at nuclear reactors. and today president obama had to reassure the american public especially those along the west coast, that these fears of some sort of radioactive cloud coming across the pacific just aren't true. here now the latest on the disaster in japan. desperate measures now under way to lessen the nuclear disaster. while tonight japanese officials are saying they have rare good news of some levels stabilizing, late today we got the first look at the reactors close up. this new video of a helicopter fly-over showing the destruction. then there are the numbers. just under 5700 dead, just under 10,000 missing and over three-quarters of a million people surviving without electricity in near freezing

the tsunami surge ripped across the pacific to hawaii and the west coast. this video shot this morning shows the strong wave of water pouring into santa cruz harbor. the power is across the dock, and the boats are bounced around like rubble balls -- rubber balls. the tsunami warning for people in the bay area was dropped at 3:00 this afternoon. robert is live with an update on the cleanup. >> reporter: we are still here at the santa cruz harbor where there has been almost nonstop action since the tsunami rolled in this morning. there's been destruction and a will the of tense moments. >> reporter: the tsunami is not over yet. we are still seeing surging this evening, mainly because of the way the harbor funnels the water, it helps the waves gather strength as they rush in. look at the action we saw today. we would see the boats in the harbor start to shake, sometimes violently as the waves were brought in. normally there's no action. today it was what the boat owners call scary energy. >> boats sinking and crunching under the bridge that separates the upper

we'll show you how diploma particles crossed the pacific. we are tracking the storm that drenched the bay area, triggering a multicar pileup in the sierra. >>live, from the bay area's news station, this is kron4 news at 4:00. >>pam: kron 4 is tracking the storm, we have crews all over the bay area from as far north as santa rosa all the way down to the mountains in santa cruz. we're covering a tornado that damaged a building in santa rosa. crews working on down the power lines in san rafael, and the flooding in no valley. as well as the downpours of rain in san francisco and in the oakland hills. in the peninsula will show you flooded areas in san bruno. plus, crews are canvassing the south bay and watching the conditions in san jose and along highway 17. we are tracking the storm and begin with jacqueline bennett. >>jacqueline: it's been a wild day of weather in the bay. this is ocean beach, and that is a tornado over the water. we call these waterspouts. it never made it on to land but it's an incredible video. we had a line of severe thund