If there was ever a sound of devastation this must surely be it.

Scientists have released the menacing noise of the Japan earthquake which plunged the nation into unprecedented chaos when it shook the nation on March 11.

The cataclysmic mega-quake sent a merciless tsunami bulldozing its way through streets and homes wiping out towns and communities in a matter of minutes.

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Scientists have released the menacing noise of the Japan earthquake which has been sped up 16 times

Underwater microphones were plunged into the Pacific to capture the noise

The underwater microphone was positioned 900 miles away from the epicentre in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska

Now the full force of mother nature can be terrifyingly relived as scientists from the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle have released an extraordinary recording of the sound of the 9.0 earthquake as it powered its way through the Pacific ocean moments before creating the devastating tsunami.



Captured by an underwater microphone called a hydrophone positioned 900 miles away from the epicentre in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska the earthquake's incredible rumbling and roaring is not dissimilar to the sound of a rocket taking off.

The clip, available on You Tube, is sped up 16 times and in the second half the sound becomes almost blurred and muffled as the Earth's crust readjusts hundreds of miles under the ocean.



The initial burst of noise is the P-wave, which stands for 'primary' waves and the second louder noise is the sound of the T-wave, or tertiary waves.



Tertiary waves are created when an earthquake occurs under the sea. They are the slowest waves of the three types of waves and are created when their seismic energy goes upwards into the ocean.

As this happens it converts to sound energy making the T-wave.

The clip comes as the Japanese are trying to get their nation back on track.

The now infamous Fukushima plant has been spewing radioactive substances for more than a month after the 14 metre tsunami devastated its cooling towers and wrecked emergency back-up systems.

Thousands of families were evacuated from the nuclear disaster zone and are now set to receive compensation pay-outs from the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

They will receive initial payments of about £7,300 and individual evacuees will get about £5,500.



Out of control: This photo, taken three days ago, shows fires raging at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Tepco is still struggling to stabilise the nuclear reactors

Still coming to terms with disaster: A woman tries to find out what happened to her mother in Kesennuma in northern Japan

Radiation leaks from the crisis have contaminated crops and left fishermen in the region unable to sell their catches - a huge blow to an area heavily dependent on fishing and farming.

Nearly 140,000 people are still living in shelters after losing their homes or being advised to evacuate following radiation concerns.



Earlier this week Japan's emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Asahi, about 55 miles east of Tokyo where 13 people were killed and 3,000 homes were damaged to look at the devastation.

Radiation levels have now dropped enough for police in white protective suits, goggles and blue gloves to begin the grim task of searching for bodies amid the muddy debris inside the six miles radius around the Fukushima plant.

It is estimated up to 1,000 bodies could be lodged in the rubble.

Only about 13,500 of the more than 26,000 people believed to have been killed by the disaster have been recovered with most though to have been washed out to sea.



Police officers are now allowed to look for bodies near the Fukushima nuclear plant