Sendai Airport is flooded after a tsunami following an earthquake in Sendai
Sendai Airport is flooded after a tsunami following an earthquake in Sendai Reuters

The biggest ever earthquake to hit Japan has killed hundreds of people already, according to reports. According to Kyodo News, at least 300 bodies have been recovered from one of the worst-hit coastal cities in the northeast of the country.

Police have found at least 300 bodies in Sendai, which is part of the Miyagi prefecture which was hit by tsunami waves 20 feet high.

It’s bigger than any known historic earthquake in Japan, and bigger than expectations for that,” the LA Times quoted Susan Hough, a seismologist with the United States Geological Survey USGS), as saying. USGS estimates that Friday's quake is one of the 10 most powerful on record.