Striking Video Footage of Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

I, like many others, are shocked and saddened by the events that have occurred in Japan over the past 36 hours. I lived in Japan for a year and feel desperately sad for the Japanese people and those affected by the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Some of the footage that has come out of Japan has been quite incredible, although disturbing to watch. Having been glued to my computer, watching updates from those on the ground and the news agencies covering the crisis, I decided to collate some of the most striking videos that have emerged. A selection are below.

This view was one of the first I witnessed via Al-Jazeera. The terrifying tsunami washing over coastal lands, swallowing houses and farmland…

A rather terrifying ground-level view of the tsunami rushing down high streets towards the camera…

The tsunami taking over the runways at Sendai airport…

Ships, cars and homes being tossed around in a port on the coast of Japan…

This was the incredible scene off the coast of Japan where a large whirlpool developed. Reported by BBC News….

In downtown Tokyo, many of the skyscrapers were doing exactly what they were designed to do, absorbing the impact of the earthquake…

Just today, an explosion was reported at one of the nuclear facilities near the city of Fukushima. News is still scarce on the status of the nuclear reactor there…