At least 55 people are now known to have died after a number of major earthquakes hit parts of Japan, with warnings of more tremors to come.
Experts fear the damage to homes and buildings is so great, it can't be assessed yet - with water, power and mobile phone services still down in some areas.
Japan's military has dispatched 1-thousand soldiers to disaster zones to join the rescue efforts.
Yoichiro Hotta managed to escape from his home in Kanazawa:
"I couldn't stand up inside my home. I ducked under the table, then sat and waited. I was very, very scared. I've never felt that way. I thought I would die. I thought 'It's the end'".
