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Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 (Facts and figures (On March 11, 2011, a…
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011
Facts and figures
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake shook northeastern Japan, unleashing a savage tsunami
Aftershocks: 11,450 (as of 3 March 2015)
Tsunami: Up to 40.5 m (133 ft); in Miyako, Iwate, Tōhoku
the most powerful earthquake ever recorded to have hit Japan
The earthquake moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 2.4 m (8 ft) east, shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm (4 in) and 25 cm (10 in)
The effects of the great earthquake were felt around the world, from Norway's fjords to Antarctica's ice sheet. Tsunami debris continues to wash up on North American beaches two years later.
Effects
Geophysical
Portions of northeastern Japan shifted by as much as 2.4 metres closer to North America
A 400-kilometre stretch of coastline dropped vertically by 0.6 metres, allowing the tsunami to travel farther and faster onto land
seabed in the area between the epicenter and the Japan Trench moved 50 metres southeast and rose about 7 metres
As said in facts and figures
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Incidents
At Fukushima the subsequent tsunami disabled emergency generators required to cool the reactors.
Over the following three weeks there was evidence of a partial nuclear meltdown in units 1, 2 and 3; visible explosions, suspected to be caused by hydrogen gas
Radiation releases caused large evacuations, concern over food and water supplies, and treatment of nuclear workers
The IAEA has rated the events at level 7, the same as Chenobyl, and the highest on the scale – meaning that there is a major release of radio active material with widespread health and environmental effects
Primary effects
All of Japan's ports were briefly shut down after the earthquake
A total of 319 fishing ports, about 10% of Japan's fishing ports, were damaged in the disaster
1.4 million homes without water
1.2 million homes without power
4,700 destroyed houses
around 4.4 million households served by Tōhoku Electric Power (TEP) in northeastern Japan were left without electricity
The expressway did not reopen to general public use until 24 March 2011
754 cultural properties were damaged across nineteen prefectures, including five National Treasures
resulted in over 340,000 displaced people in the Tōhoku region, and shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors.
apanese National Police Agency report confirmed 15,894 deaths,6,152 injured, and 2,562 people missing
Causes
The Pacific plate, which moves at a rate of 8 to 9 cm per year, dips under Honshu's underlying plate building large amounts of elastic energy
A segment of rock around 200km long slipped suddenly and flicked upwards by around 5-10m. This sudden uplift displaced (pushed up) the water creating the tsunami.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency said that the earthquake may have ruptured the fault zone from Iwate to Ibaraki with a length of 500 km and a width of 200 km
Responses and management
Before the event
A Tsunami warning was issued 3 minutes after the earthquake
A Meteorological Agency official appeared on TV urging those affected by the quake not to return home because of possible tsunamis.
While the Japan Trench was known for creating large quakes, it had not been expected to generate quakes above an 8.0 magnitude
A tsunami warning extended to at least 50 nations and territories, as far away as South America.
Japan was largely prepared for the earthquake and many buildings remained standing afterwards, but it was not prepared for the subsequent Tsunami
After the event
The Defence Ministry was sending eight fighter jets to check the damage
In response, 91 countries have offered aid, from blankets and food to search dogs and military transport.
he Japanese government is among the best prepared in the world for disasters and has so far only made specific requests for help, such as calling for search and rescue teams
Fifty-nine search and rescue experts, four medics and two sniffer dogs flew out on a private charter plane with 11 tonnes of equipment on board.