Additional followup – death toll so far at 5 and growing.
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Japan quake tears through commodity, energy sectors
Friday 3/11/11 (Reuters) – Here is a chronology of key events on Friday after an earthquake of magnitude 8.9 hit Tokyo, the Japanese capital, and its surroundings:
Huge tsunami slams Japan after quake, at least 5 dead
** Japanese government to declare nuclear power emergency situation, says news agency Jiji, citing defence ministry.
** Tonengeneral says shut main units at Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo after quake.
** Tokyo Commodity Exchange says no damage to rubber warehouses from quake.
** Tsunami is one of biggest on record for Japan -Kyodo quoting expert
** All Japanese ports close, with discharge operations halted, after the magnitude 8.9 quake and tsunami, shippers say.
** Mitsubishi Material says Onahama copper smelter halted due to electricity outage from quake.
** Asian jet fuel bids seen at lower level as closure of Japanese airports may dampen demand, traders say.
** Asian fuel oil April/May and May/June timespreads traded up around $1 from the previous session, brokers say.
** Strong aftershock hits northern Japan, says broadcaster NHK.
** Cosmo Oil says Chiba refinery fire from storage tank, still working to extinguish it.
** Northeast Japan’s Sendai airport flooded, television says.
** Mitsubishi Chemical says halts operations of 2 naphtha crackers at Kashima after power outage.
** Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says some Japanese nuclear power plants shut down but no report of nuclear leaks.
** Japan extends warning for big tsunami to more areas on Pacific coast, news agency Kyodo says.
** Tsunami of 10 metres hits port in Sendai, northern Japan, Kyodo says.
** Major fire breaks out at Cosmo Oil’s Chiba refinery near Tokyo, television reports.
** Tokyo Electric Power says power cut to 4 million homes.
** Power outage hits 4 million homes in Tokyo, surrounding area, Kyodo says.
** Tokyo gold futures pare losses after quake rocks Japan, TOCOM rubber largely unmoved.
** Tokyo Commodity Exchange says trading normally after quake.
** Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains to northern parts of the country halted, Kyodo says.
** Earthquake shakes buildings in Tokyo, witnesses say.