The tsunami warning issued for the Pacific basin including Fiji, following the catastrophic 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan yesterday was cancelled at 5:10 this morning.

The earthquake struck Japan at around 6pm Fiji Time yesterday.

The devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan killed at least 1,000 people along the northeastern coast after a wall of water swept away everything in its path.

Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9 magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km north east of Tokyo.

A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant, where pressure has exceeded normal levels.

Officials say 350 people are dead and about 500 missing, but it is feared the final death toll will be much greater.

The BBC reports that a ship carrying 200 passengers is missing after being swept out to sea by the tsunami while a train in the disaster zone is also missing with an unconfirmed number of people on board.

In the center of Tokyo many people are spending the night in their offices.

But thousands, perhaps millions, chose to walk home.

Train services were suspended.

The tsunami reached 10km inland in places carrying houses, buildings, boats and cars with it.

In the city of Sendai the police found up to 300 bodies in a single ward.

Outside the city in a built-up area a fire blazed across several kilometers

The quake was the fifth largest in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger than the one which devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, said scientists.

The tsunami rolled across the Pacific at 800km/h   as fast as a jetliner   before hitting Hawaii and the US West Coast.

A tsunami alert remains in force for many areas along the Pacific coast in the United States.

Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate coastal areas in the states of California, Oregon and Washington, but there were no reports of major damage.

This report from the BBC:

Meanwhile, the tsunami warning issued for Fiji and other islands in the Pacific following the devastating earthquake in Japan overnight forced Fiji's national airline Air Pacific to cancel one of its flights.       

FJ853 was scheduled to fly to Honolulu via Apia at 8:30pm last night.

Air Pacific said FJ853 has been rescheduled to depart Nadi for Apia at 1pm today and check ins for this delayed service will be opened from 10am this morning.

Stay with us for continuous updates on the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami throughout today.

Story by: Roneel Lal