Earthquake:
Last night, huge fires burned unabated across large parts of the country as damaged oil refineries and gas works billowed black smoke into the sky.
Half the country was understood to be without power, with four million homes in Tokyo alone being cut off, while the army has been deployed to the quake-hit areas to help relief efforts.
However those relief efforts were hampered by at least 50 reported aftershocks, including a 6.6 magnitude tremor which hit Tokyo and caused already damaged buildings to shake further.
Elsewhere, two high-speed bullet trains were missing alongside a cruise ship carrying 100 passengers that was swept away when the wave hit. One of the trains was reported to be carrying 400 passengers.
A state of emergency was declared at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima after the quake caused the cooling system to fail.
Tonight, the Japanese government confirmed that they would release radioactive vapor to ease high pressure that had built up inside the reactor.
Flooding:
Roads were submerged, bridges washed out, and cars abandoned in rivers and streams as Louisiana struggled Friday from days of severe weather that forced residents across the state to flee their homes.
The rain and flooding is part of a weather system that has affected Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama. At least three people have died in Louisiana alone.
The system that dumped as much as 20 inches of rain in some areas was slowly moving out of the region, but the effects could still be felt as rivers in some areas were waiting to crest, more rain was expected Saturday and water in other areas was still draining.
In neighboring Mississippi, the worst appeared yet to come as officials said as many as 1,000 residents could see their homes flooded by the rapidly rising Leaf River in Hattiesburg, Petal and surrounding areas.
In southwest Louisiana, a band of rain dumped 10 to 15 inches of rain across some areas late Thursday and into Friday, sparking vicious flash flooding.
