<P> The earthquake took place at 14 : 46 JST ( UTC 05 : 46 ) around 67 km ( 42 mi ) from the nearest point on Japan 's coastline , and initial estimates indicated the tsunami would have taken 10 to 30 minutes to reach the areas first affected , and then areas farther north and south based on the geography of the coastline . Just over an hour after the earthquake at 15 : 55 JST , a tsunami was observed flooding Sendai Airport , which is located near the coast of Miyagi Prefecture , with waves sweeping away cars and planes and flooding various buildings as they traveled inland . The impact of the tsunami in and around Sendai Airport was filmed by an NHK News helicopter , showing a number of vehicles on local roads trying to escape the approaching wave and being engulfed by it . A 4 - metre - high ( 13 ft ) tsunami hit Iwate Prefecture . Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai was also particularly hard hit . At least 101 designated tsunami evacuation sites were hit by the wave . </P>
<P> The earthquake took place at 14 : 46 JST ( UTC 05 : 46 ) around 67 km ( 42 mi ) from the nearest point on Japan 's coastline , and initial estimates indicated the tsunami would have taken 10 to 30 minutes to reach the areas first affected , and then areas farther north and south based on the geography of the coastline . Just over an hour after the earthquake at 15 : 55 JST , a tsunami was observed flooding Sendai Airport , which is located near the coast of Miyagi Prefecture , with waves sweeping away cars and planes and flooding various buildings as they traveled inland . The impact of the tsunami in and around Sendai Airport was filmed by an NHK News helicopter , showing a number of vehicles on local roads trying to escape the approaching wave and being engulfed by it . A 4 - metre - high ( 13 ft ) tsunami hit Iwate Prefecture . Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai was also particularly hard hit . At least 101 designated tsunami evacuation sites were hit by the wave . </P>
how long did it take for the tohoku tsunami to arrive
how long did it take for the tohoku tsunami to arrive
10 to 30 minutes
10 to 30 minutes