After earthquake and tsunami, Twitter messages give news advisories, prayers for victims and shocked reactions

Just as Egypt has been cast as the Twitter revolution, so Friday's massive Japanese earthquake and tsunami was destined to become the Twitter disaster.

In 140-character bites, the story unfolded: the shock and terror; the sense of human frailty mixed with lifesaving information; the messages of those seeking comfort and those seeing some kind of divine retribution, all mixing at hyper-speed.

Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake

Google launched its Person Finder technology on Friday morning, in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Person Finder is an interactive database that allows users to search for missing persons online, or submit information about people who are injured or were missing.

The 8.9 magnitude Japan earthquake set off a massive tsunami, and the two have left behind floods, fires and the shutdown of public transportation systems and airports.

The largest earthquake in Japan

The largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history hit the island nation’s northeastern coast on Friday, rumbling through cities and small coastal towns and starting a huge tsunami.

Officials report that hundreds are dead and many more missing.

The earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon, at a depth of 10 kilometres about 125 kilometres off the eastern coast, and was followed by at least 19 powerful aftershocks.

Japan’s meteorological agency said the initial earthquake registered at a magnitude of 8.8, while the U.S. Geological Survey said it measured a magnitude 8.9. That number ranks it fifth among all quakes registered in the past 111 years.