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.

 
Tsunami swirls near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture

Vortex: A helpless ship is caught in the middle of a raging whirlpool which sucks debris into its jaws as it swirls near a port in Oarai, Ibaraki

Washed away: Where there was once a coastline populated with homes and factories, powerful waves triggered by the tsunami devour anything in their path. Only a scattering trees remain

Washed away: Where there was once a coastline populated with homes and factories, powerful waves triggered by the tsunami devour anything in their path. Only a scattering of trees remain

A pedestrian road has collapsed in the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Urayasu city, Chiba prefecture on March 11, 2011.
Emotional: Two visibly shaken young Japanese women who were evacuated from a building in Central Park in Tokyo comfort each other as news spreads of the devastation unleashed across the country

Trauma: Two residents in Urayasu city, Chiba, scramble over a snapped road moments after the quake struck while right, a young woman wells up as the true scale of the trauma that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people becomes apparent

Collapsed: Three shocked workers look at the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima that only a short while earlier they had been working inside with dozens more unsuspecting colleagues

Collapsed: Three shocked workers look at the factory in Sukagawa city, Fukushima that only a short while earlier they had been working inside with dozens more unsuspecting colleagues

Doomed: A massive tsunami engulfs stranded homes aon the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

Doomed: The tsunami pours through trees and engulfs stranded homes on the coast of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, after the earthquake struck

Gone: The same scene just moments later shows how the entire residential area of dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path

Gone: The same scene just moments later shows how the entire residential area of dozens of homes is completely obliterated by the unforgiving waters which swept away anything in their path

Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake

Stranded: Shoppers sit on the floor of a department store as train and bus services were suspended due to the earthquake

People at a book store react as the store's ceiling falls in Sendai, northern Japan Friday, March 11, 2011.
Black smoke raises from a building in Tokyo's waterfront Daiba in Tokyo on March 11, 2011. A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook Japan,

Shock: A young couple at a bookstore in Sendai, northern Japan, embrace as around them the building rocks from the force of the devastating earthquake while in Tokyo, black smoke rises from fires caused by the quake

Emergency: The fear is written on the faces of Tokyo's residents as they don white helmets and protective masks outside their workplace moments after the quake struck

Emergency: The fear is written on the faces of Tokyo's residents as they don white helmets and protective masks outside their workplace moments after the quake struck

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

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

A mother and child crouch on a street in Tokyo while an earthquake hits Friday, March 11, 2011.
Injured people are attended to by emergency personnel after an earthquake in downtown Tokyo Japan March 11, 2011.

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

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 moves over the debris of destroyed homes and cars caught in the raging tsunami waters

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

Natural gas containers burn at a facility following an earthquake in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, Japan March 11, 2011.
Flames rise from houses on fire after powerful earthquakes hit Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Friday, March 11, 2011.

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

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

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

Wave of destruction: Tsunami tidal waves race upstream along the Naka river at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki hours the massive 8.9 magnitude quake struck this morning

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

Cold: Elderly women who are likely to have expereinced a numbe rof earthquakes in their lifetime sit on the street as they take the most recent disaster which is one of the worst in recent history

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

Stranded commuters sit inside Tokyo railway station as train services are suspended due to a powerful

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

A man sits wrapped in a blanket after he was evacuated from a building in Tokyo's financial district, after an earthquake off the coast of northern Japan, March 11, 2011.
Stranded commuters wrap themselves in blankets bracing for chilly evening at a park in Yokohama, near Tokyo, following a strong earthquake hit eastern Japan on Friday, March 11,

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

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

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

Shock: The full destructive power of the earthquake is evident in this concrete road in Fukushima prefecture that was snapped in half by the disaster

Shock: The full destructive power of the earthquake is evident in this concrete road in Fukushima prefecture that was snapped in half by the disaster

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

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

Explosions: Giant fireballs rise from a burning oil refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture after being shaken by the earthquake off the coast

Explosions: Giant fireballs rise from a burning oil refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture after being shaken by the earthquake off the coast