Transcript for This day in history: March 11, 2011

126. Million people watched their world crumbling all around them the earthquake eight point to nine. One of the biggest ever and then 35 minutes later the so nominee racing at the speed of a Jumbo jet. Here's what it looked like on the ground you can see it as a pulverize us houses. And it goes on to engulf an airport you can see that's a jet way barely above water. Those are cars riding the rapids apocalyptic scenes broadcast live around the world today in some cities the water reaching three miles inland. And a nuclear power plant suddenly finding itself without backup pumps to cool but 3400. Degree uranium. In the reactor core. We are covering all of this in force tonight and we asked Dan Harris to start us off at that moment. When the world changed 231. Miles north of Tokyo. And the quake hit. Fresh pictures from the tsunami zone as the sun rises in Japan revealing massive plumes of smoke. From fires burning out of control entire neighborhood's it simply washed away. And survivors gathered on ruse in one parking lot a giant SOS. Is the moment where the whole. Disaster starts yeah. 46 local time. Debris and reunions down as people not rush out into the streets don't. Back inside his bookstore you can see the fear and even comprehension on the faces of the work. At the same moment. Frantic scene. As the very thing. Relying on. It's our team. It put Iraqi. If grill. Children running for their lives. Okay. Okay. Well news anchors wearing helmets on air edition Isaac jolt on upon it this. And televisions in this office and rattling uncontrollable. Then around two and this tsunami sirens wailed. A phony furious wave comes roaring in at 500 miles an hour with others lined up right behind you. All that go. The walls of water crashing ashore with the astonishing power. We're riding across the flag Japanese countryside. Swallowing everything in the way. Golf game. Engulfing the port. You're seeing live footage of a tsunami engulfing the port area. Upcoming city in Watson prefecture this. Isn't what's happening right as we speak. It builds into a toxic treachery soup of cars. Votes and houses. Some of them on fire. Watch as this irresistible liquid invasion create waterfalls of cars. Rips this home right off its foundation. And destroys an entire village. To get a sense of the scale of this thing check out this lone man on the back of the truck. Seemingly so small against the onslaught just yards away. Or look at this boat stuck on the cusp of a massive whirlpool board this ship. Struggling to stay up right at him. Friends all around. As of right now the official Cole of dead and missing stands at 1000. A ferry carrying a hundred people is still missing. As is an entire passenger train carrying an unknown number of people.

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