Fires triggered by the quake burned out of control up and down the coast.
A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara City in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and was burning out of control.
The buildings and runway of the Sendai airport in Miyagi Prefecture were inundated.
NHK footage showed people taking refuge at the roof top of the airport building.
Footage on Japanese television NHK showed massive damage from the tsunami in the residential areas with debris floating in the water, and many people stranded in the higher floors of their homes.
One person could be seen seeking help by waving a white sheet through the windows.
The quake struck at 2:46 p.m. and was followed by five powerful aftershocks within about an hour, the strongest measuring 7.1.
The US Geological Survey upgraded the strength of the first quake to a magnitude 8.9, while Japan's meteorological agency measured it at 8.4.
The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan. NHK was warning those near the coast to get to safer ground.
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