BREXIT - WORSE THAN 'BLACK WEDNESDAY'

As Britain votes to leave the European Union, carnage has taken hold of the markets.

The pound is dropping like a stone, off more than 10% against the dollar at $1.3416. Meanwhile Japan's Nikkei dived as much as 8.3% to 14,890.56 points, the lowest since February.

Europe's stock markets will open at 8 a.m. UK time (2 a.m. EST), and it's expected to be a bloodbath. European stock futures are already crashing lower with nearly an hour to go before markets open, and major futures across the continent are off more than 10%. The London Stock Exchange will open as normal, but it is possible trading may be halted as automatic circuit breakers are triggered by huge drops in stocks.

The huge crash that will come once markets open will be worse for Europe than the market crash on the day known as "Black Wednesday" in the early 1990s, when the UK exited the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Here is a look at the way futures are performing the morning after Britain's historic vote.

FTSE 100 futures are off more than 9.5%:

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The picture on continental Europe is even worse. Here is Germany's DAX:

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France's CAC will open off more than 11%:

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The Euro Stoxx 50 broad index is nearly 11.6% lower also:

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