A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck near the coast of Honshu, Japan and unleashed a wall of water that rushed toward land, leveling houses, buildings and everything in its path.  According to police, hundreds have died and the death toll continues to rise.  

The government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant 170 miles north of Tokyo to evacuate because the plant's system wasn't able to cool down the reactor. The reactor was not leaking radiation, but its core remained hot after the shutdown.

The threat of another tsunami prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue a warning for at least 50 countries and the entire west coast of the United States.