Strongest Earthquake in Japan’s History Strikes; Tsunami Warnings for Hawaii, West Coast

By Chris Ariens 

The strongest earthquake ever to rock Japan struck at 12:46amET (2:46pm in Japan) this morning, touching off a Tsunami which is moving across the Pacific Ocean at this hour. Hawaii and the entire West coast of the U.S. are on alert with Tsunami watches, warnings or advisories in effect.

As for U.S. news networks reporting the news: Bloomberg reported the quake minutes after it struck at 12:51amET; Fox news began continuing coverage at 1:09am; CNN International went into breaking news at 1am and CNN/U.S. began simulcasting at 1:12am. MSNBC began coverage at 1:59am and also continued through the night.

CNN’s Tokyo-based correspondent Kyung Lah has been covering this story since it broke. The CNN Tokyo bureau normally has six staff. Additional CNN correspondents are heading there at this hour.

Advertisement

The U.S. morning shows threw out plans for their broadcasts and have been in continuing coverage of the quake since 7amET.

Developing…

> Related: Todd Ogasawara, our Honolulu-based editor of mediabistro blog ThinkMobile had other plans today, now he’s bracing for the wave that might come.

Advertisement