Chinese parents who lost their only child in last month's Christchurch earthquake will not be getting special compensation, Prime Minister John Key says.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says the thoughts of his quake-stricken city are with Japan following Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake which devastated much of the country and left thousands dead.

Japanese officials have confirmed a second hydrogen explosion has occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, while a warning of a second tsunami has been cancelled.

More than half a million people have been forced from their homes in quake and tsunami-hit northern Japan, petrol has run dry and supermarkets are empty in what its prime minister says is the worst crisis to hit Japan since WWII.

The mothers of two former All Blacks based in Japan feared the worst when Friday's deadly earthquake and tsunami hit.

Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion at a nuclear plant crippled by the earthquake and tsunami as they raced to stave off multiple reactor meltdowns, but they provided few details about whether they were making progress.

Three nuclear power plants in Japan have suffered failure, with a top Government official warning a meltdown at one of the plants was "highly possible". Over 10,000 people are thought to be missing as officials fight to avoid a catastrope

Read the latest accounts from people around the world via Facebook and Twitter.

The Robinson family of Nelson breathed a huge sigh of relief this morning when they finally reached their daughter in Japan.

A compilation of some of the most remarkable video to emerge from Friday night's disaster in Japan

It is starting to feel like elements of Hiroshima, Kobe and the Asian tsunami combined.

All but "a few" New Zealanders registered as living in northeast Japan have been located.

New Zealand is one of the first countries to respond to a call for help from Japan.

A young New Zealander who died in Thailand last month had a highly infectious virus which can spark the heart condition which killed her, tests show.

There is no connection between February's Christchurch earthquake and the massive Japanese quake, scientists say.

How the tsunami is impacting Pacific Rim locations such as Hawaii, Guam, North and South America, Tahiti and New Zealand.

The tsunami has reached North Cape, Raoul Island, Great Barrier Island, East Cape and Tauranga.

As many as 6000 New Zealanders could be in quake-stricken Japan, says New Zealand's ambassador there.