Major damage is reported in northern Japan from an earthquake and tsunami that have left hundreds dead.
Police found 200 to 300 bodies in a northeastern coastal city, and more than 100 others were also confirmed killed. Hundreds more are missing. A large section of a town of 70,000 people is on fire.
The magnitude 8.9 quake and 23-foot tsunami were followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.
A Japanese coast guard official says a search is under way for a ship carrying 80 dock workers that was swept away when the tsunami struck. The vessel was washed away from a shipbuilding site in the area most affected by the quake.
Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.
Meanwhile authorities say the pressure is rising at a nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan after its cooling system failed.
Japan's nuclear safety agency says pressure inside the reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant has risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal. To reduce the pressure, slightly radioactive vapor may be released.
The agency said the radioactive element in the vapor would not affect the environment or human health.
Japan has issued an evacuation order to about 3,000 residents living near the plant. The government also issued a state of emergency at the power plant.
The agency says plant workers are scrambling to restore cooling water supply at the plant but there is no prospect for an immediate success.
The water that's been coming ashore in Hawaii from the Japanese earthquake has been as high as 11 feet on the west side of the Big Island, reaching the lobby of a hotel.
Water has washed up on roadways on the Big Island, and flooding is reported on Maui.
Tsunami waves have been swamping Hawaii's beaches in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami that devastated Japan.
Scientists have warned that the first tsumnami waves aren't always the strongest.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie says the tsunami warning remains in effect and that there's "significant adverse activity" on Maui and the Big Island.
Honolulu's airport is open, but officials say seven or eight jets bound for Hawaii have turned around, including some originating from Japan.
Honolulu's Department of Emergency Management has created refuge areas at community centers and schools.
The first waves from a tsunami caused by a Japanese earthquake have reached the U.S. mainland along the Oregon coast.
Officials along the coast activated warning sirens hours earlier to alert people to leave low-lying areas.
Waves have surged along California's coast. The tide began rising shortly after 7:30 a.m. along beaches in Crescent City, where the tsunami was expected to hit the hardest in California. Officials predicted that waves could reach as high as 7 feet.
Active waves similar to any stormy day on the coast were the only sign that a tsunami had arrived in Washington state. The National Weather Service predicted the waves caused by an earthquake in Japan to reach 3 feet or more on the Washington coast Friday, but higher waves could come later.
