Washington, March 12 (IANS) US President Barack Obama has said there was no major damage in the country from a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in Japan.
Huge tsunami waves, some 10 metres high, triggered by a devastating magnitude 8.9 earthquake, slammed northeastern Japan Friday. Hundreds of people are feared killed and thousands were missing.
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 8.9 on the Richter scale. The quake hit at 2.46 p.m. (0546 GMT) at a depth of 24.4 km.
Tsunami waves reached Hawaii and grazed the US West Coast, reports said.
Obama said Friday at a White House press conference that the US government was closely monitoring the impact, according to Xinhua.
He termed the earthquake and the tsunami "catastrophic", and said the US was sending assistance to Japan, as one aircraft carrier was already in Japanese waters and another on its way.