Japan tsunami and earthquake - live coverage

• 8.9 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks hit Japan
• Tsunami engulfs northern port of Sendai and islands
• Emergency at nuclear plant, fears of radiation leak
• Tsunami warnings for many other countries
• Death toll said to be more than 1,000 so far

Flames rise from houses and debris from the tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture — Burning houses and debris after the tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. Photograph: AP

5.52pm GMT: The Guardian Comment is Free section has an account of the earthquake from Cecilia Fujishima, a student and English language teacher living in Tokyo:

This time, the epicentre was off the Sanriku coast in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, 300km from Tokyo.... The settled areas of the picturesque Sanriku coast have low-lying fishing villages with an acute awareness of tsunami. The tsunami flood gates and inundation zone warning signs along the coast are a stark reminder of the 1896 Sanriku tsunami in which more than 20,000 people died.

5.46pm GMT: So far, rising waters of around seven feet (just over two meters) have been reported on the coast of Oregon, where residents have evacuated low-lying areas. But there have been no reports of damage there or in northern California.

There are reports of surfers in Santa Cruz, California, out on the water attempting to ride the tsunami swells.

5.40pm GMT: The Twitter feed of singer-songwriter Blaise Plant gave a dramatic minute-by-minute account of the earthquake and its aftermath near Sendai, one of the hardest-hit parts of Japan:

1507: My house is trashed! I'm ok! It was spooky...the biggest one yet!!
1647: Hey Everyone! It seems to have calmed down a bit.from where I am.the buildings are all busted up..massive billboards on the verge of falling
1648: I urge everyone to keep alert...things are falling all over the place... I heard tsunami looks pretty big on TV
1649: I currently can't go home the ground is still shaking and shaking
1716: So far a lot of people from the neighborhood gathered together to keep warm.
1724: Still big shakes...the tsunami seems to have really done damage... Looks as though there are deaths...but I can't be sure on that.
1828: The city is a complete black out! Can't see anything except car lights!!
1841: Gotta go pick up my cousin at Sendai station...I hope she's alright
1850: I'm standing in the middle of the city...pitch Black
1932: Thank god we live in a great, organized country where everyone is helping each other out!

5.34pm GMT: President Obama is giving a press conference at the White Hoiuse and begins with a statement on the earthquake and tsunami. Obama says he has told the Japanese government that the US stands ready to provide any assistance it needs.

"Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan and across the region," Obama said.
The president also spoke of the tsunami heading for the US west coast, and underlined the need for residents to stay away from low-lying coastal areas and to respect evacuation orders.

5.31pm GMT: The Japanese media are reporting that the death toll is expected to exceed 1,000, most of whom appeared to have drowned. And that figure could rise significantly once the waters recede.

5.29pm GMT: Hoisted from the comments from our previous live blog is this from reader SaffronHS in Tokyo, who has decided to stay in the office for the night:

We are feeling rather sick, both from devastating news and dizziness of actual shaking. Odakyu line (departs from Shinjyuku and goes into Kanagawa) started running again, and will be running through the night, but some of us decided it's better waiting until the sun is up; it's cold outside, and we are not sure if we can get onto the train at all - it must be fully packed now, and might not be able to get on board.

5.25pm GMT: In this video you can see skyscrapers in Japan swaying in unsettling fashion during one of the earthquakes there today – as they are designed to do.

5.19pm GMT: The Tokyo Electric Power company (Tepco) is the source of the news that the pressure inside the No.1 reactor at its Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant has been rising, with the risk of a radiation leak, reports Jiji News via Reuters.

Tepco says it plans to take measures to release the pressure, the report added. No comment was immediately available from Tepco.

5.15pm GMT: Robyn Gallagher is a New Zealander visiting Tokyo, and she has blogged her reaction to feeling the quake from inside Shinjuku railway station, said to be the busiest train station in the world with two million people using it each day:

It wasn't the sort of gentle Wellington quake that I'm used to. It was this weird swaying, like standing on a platform on top of a giant spring.
It actually took a little while to figure out that it was an earthquake and not a random Japanese public transport bump. When I realised, I headed for a wall, fearful of debris, though the building seemed to be intact. My mental what-if earthquake plan, formulated post-Christchurch, was put into full effect.
After the swaying stopped – except it didn't so much stop as just slow down – I noticed that everyone around was not panicked or freaking out. There was a general sense of calmness.

5.13pm GMT: The Guardian's Justin McCurry in Tokyo emails to say that the Kyodo news agency is reporting that radiation levels are rising at the Fukushima Number One nuclear plant turbine building, but doesn't give a source.

5.05pm GMT: Mathew Honan is a resident of Ocean Beach in San Francisco, where the tsunami is expected to hit shortly. He's set up a live webcam with a view of the beach, which you can see here.

5pm GMT: Here's a summary of the aftermath of today's earthquake and massive tsunami in Japan:

• An earthquake measured at 8.9 magnitude by the US Geological Survey, the sixth biggest since 1900, struck Japan today. The USGS has recorded more than 50 subsequent earthquakes.
• The earthquake triggered a tsunami with 10m-high waves hitting the northern port of Sendai. Waves have swept across farmland, sweeping away homes, crops, vehicles, triggering fires. Tsunami warnings and watches have been issued in dozens of other countries.
• The death toll has been rising throughout the day. Police have just said 200 to 300 drowned bodies have been found in Sendai. A ship carrying 100 people was swept away by the tsunami, according to the Kyodo news agency. Reuters is reporting that a train is unaccounted for in coastal areas affected by the tsunami.
• A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear plant in Fukushima. The authorities said there was no radiation leak but people within 2km of the plant have reportedly been told to evacuate their homes.
• The Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan urged people to help their neighbours and to act to "minimise the damage". "We ask the people of Japan to exercise the spirit of fraternity, help each other and act fast," he said.
• The tsunami has reached Hawaii, with rising waters reported but no significant impact is expected when it reaches the US mainland around coastal Oregon and northern California.

Currently 2am, power still out, cold. Keeping positive, but so many people have been injured, or killed. It's hard to sleep. Unimaginableless than a minute ago via Twitterrific