The big pictures: The moment Japan's cataclysmic tsunami engulfed a nation


Japan was today plunged into chaos after a cataclysmic earthquake sent merciless tsunami waves rushing through its helpless streets.



The unforgiving tide of water unleashed after one of the biggest quakes in recent history obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its path.

As the death toll soared, dozens more countries braced themselves for similar scenes of destruction as the full force of the mother nature powered through the Pacific ocean.

Stretching into the distance, waves caused by the tsunami pour over the coastline and rush inland swamping all before them. As the seawater passes over the land it mixes with the soil and begins to change colour to a dark brown

Helpless: A ship, dwarfed by the sheer size of the whirlpool, is drawn ever closer towards the vortex as is tossed about in the foaming waters off the port of Oarai, Ibaraki Menace: Wave upon wave heads towards the coastline which has already been breached by an earlier onslaught With fires and destruction all around him a man picks his way carefully though the rubble while (right) there's gridlocked in either direction in Sendai as people try to escape the coastal city

This extraordinary image shows how the quake split this road in Satte on the island of Honshu right down the middle Two women in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble up a road that was buckled by the force of the quake. Right, a young woman wells up and leans on her friend as the true scale of the disaster that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent Collapsed: Three shocked employees look at what has become of the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima, where moments earlier they had been working Raging seas: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

The same scene just moments later shows how the entire area with dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path. Bobbing about on the surface is all the debris the waters have picked up along the way

Swelling: The murky flow of mud and debris trapped in the tide of water washes over the tarmac car park at Sendai airport in northern Japan Destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours after the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck this morning

Shock: A young couple at a bookshop in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as the ceiling collapses and the building rocks from the force of the quake while in Tokyo, right, black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake Aftermath: Clouds of grey smoke billow out of an oil refinery, and an inferno burns at its centre, in Chiba following the earthquake Concerned: Two office workers in Tokyo brace themselves for a potential disaster as the earthquake rumbled buildings and smoke can be seen rising from skyscrapers outside Effects: A mother and her daughter watch nervously as pools of water from burst pipes encroach on the pavement in Tokyo while, right, paramedics carry away casualties from a nearby building that was rocked by the earthquake



Red alert: Flames engulf homes that were hit with the full force of the tsunami in the Miyagi region of north eastern Japan

Debris: An eerie mist sweeps across the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters in Kesennuma in Miyagi, northern Japan Explosion: Flames reach hundreds of feet into the sky after a natural gas facility in Chiba near Tokyo explodes after the earthquake, while right, a fire tears through residential houses in Yamada in northern Japan

Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake Cold: Elderly women who are likely to have experienced a number of earthquakes in their lifetime sit on the street as they take in the most recent disaster which is one of the worst in recent history Stuck: Stranded commuters inside Tokyo railway station prepare themselves for a long wait as the city, where infrastructure is designed to withstand disasters, recovers from the earthquake

Aftershocks: A frail elderly man rests under a blanket as all around him the country is gripped by the full scale of the earthquake and right, young Japanese people evacuated from buildings at risk of collapsing wrap blankets around themselves

At risk: Confusion spead amoung passengers who were taken off planes at Narita International Airport in Naita city, suburban Tokyo

Pile-up: New cars ready to be shipped are stacked on top of each other after the water gushed through Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture The sheer force of the quake is evident in this image of the road in Fukushima which has been flipped, buckled and broken

Aftermath: The remains of houses are surrounded by broken wood and concrete after flood waters engulfed Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture