A week after Japan was beaten by the powerful earthquake that has beaten the island's history and sparking tsunami - and even as the earth continued with mirrors contraction - enormous impact of the disaster was just beginning to be revealed.
Rescue efforts began with the first light as military helicopters plucked survivors from rooftops and taken to a safe place.
The quake of 8.9 magnitude which had its epicenter near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that devastated the rice fields, surrounded entire villages, houses dragging roads, cars and boats around and around like toys. Waves reached some six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on the east coast of Japan.
"The earth shook with such ferocity," said Andy Clark, who said he had become accustomed to earthquakes during his 20 years in Japan, but have never experienced what he felt Friday at the airport outside Tokyo. "I thought things were coming to an end ... it was just terrible."
Buildings shook and collapsed launched by the score, and lit many fires.
Hundreds of people were missing, Japanese media reported, quoting local police and national levels. Tens of thousands were displaced, according to Kyodo News agency of Japan.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, said the "enormous power" earthquake had caused "enormous damage over a wide area."
The quake, occurred at 14:46 (12:46 am ET), led to the U.S. National Weather Service to issue tsunami warnings to at least 50 countries and territories.
The epicenter of Friday's main quake was located off Miyagi prefecture, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Also in Miyagi, officials reported that the train had derailed and the authorities had lost contact with four trains in coastal areas, Kyodo said, citing the East Japan Railway Company.
Six million households, over 10% of the total in Japan, were without power, said Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki.
In Tokyo, train service was suspended road at night, high were closed early Saturday and the streets of the area remained jammed as commuters - thousands of whom had spent the night in shelters - tried to get to their homes in outlying areas.
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