Fukushima Tsunami and Earthquake

Question 1

When did the tsunami happen

Answer 1

11th March, 2011

Question 2

What was the tsunami caused by

Answer 2

a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 45 miles off the coast of Japan - the largest recorded for Japan and 4th globally.

Question 3

What did the earthquake cause

Answer 3

Tectonic change from the earthquake caused a tsunami

Question 4

Maximum wave height and distance inland

Answer 4

Waves reached 6 miles inland and the highest got to 40m tall.

Question 5

How many foreshocks and aftershocks were there?

Answer 5

4 major foreshocks of magnitude 6.0+ and over 800 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5+ which could continue for years.

Question 6

How did the earthquake effect Japan tectonically

Answer 6

Moved Honshu 2.4m east and lowered parts of its Pacific coast by around 1m. After 3 years it had returned to its original height.

Question 7

How many deaths and injuries?

Answer 7

Almost 20,000 (19,759), around 6,000 injured (6,242)

Question 8

How much damage was there?

Answer 8

World Bank estimated $360 billion - the costliest natural disaster in history.

Question 9

how many were left homeless

Answer 9

125,000

Question 10

How much warning did people have?

Answer 10

8-10 mins of warning before the tsunami hit

Question 11

How many people were without electricity and water

Answer 11

4.4 million households without electricity, 1.5 million without water.

Question 12

what did the tsunami damage a lot of

Answer 12

infrastructure; roads, railways, businesses

Question 13

What caused a lot of problems

Answer 13

3 Reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant went into meltdown due to loss of electrical power causing a build up of hydrogen gas from failed ventilation systems.

Question 14

how many people were evacuated because of the meltdown

Answer 14

200,000

Question 15

why will it be difficult to clean up after the Fukushima nuclear power plant

Answer 15

large amounts of radiation makes it difficult, expensive and time consuming.

Question 16

How long is it predicted to take to take to clean up after Fukushima nuclear power plant

Answer 16

could take decades

Question 17

what has Japan done to try and manage the recovery process of the reactor meltdown

Answer 17

created “no go zones” where they can decontaminate the area so people can move back in

Question 18

how is Japan decontaminating soil

Answer 18

remove topsoil from contaminated areas, put in bags to be treated. 10 million bags treated so far

Question 19

how many workers has Japan employed to help with decontamination

Answer 19

Thousands of workers have been employed, all needing protective gear which is incinerated every day

Question 20

How did people’s attitudes change as a result of the nuclear disaster?

Answer 20

Over 80% of the population said they were anti-nuclear and local authorities refused to turn reactors back on, even though they passed safety checks.

Question 21

What happened to Japan’s largest sea wall

Answer 21

the 16ft wall was destroyed

Question 22

How much of Japan’s coastline has anti-tsunami sea walls

Answer 22

40%

Question 23

what factors could have contributed to the high death toll

Answer 23

People continued like normal, trusting the defences.
The storm surge was unexpectedly large meaning it caused lots of damage.
Lots of people also incorrectly assumed they were on high enough ground to be safe.

Question 24

What shortages were there?

Answer 24

Food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel

Question 25

How many people were displaced?

Answer 25

350,000

Question 26

What did Japan mobilise in response

Answer 26

Mobilized the Self-Defence Forces

Question 27

What international aid did Japan get?

Answer 27

Rescue and expert teams from 29 countries/ international organisations as well as relief supplies and donations from 126 countries/ international organisations

Question 28

How much debris is estimated to be left in the pacific ocean from the disaster?

Answer 28

Over 1 million tons of debris

Question 29

How much was donated according to red cross?

Answer 29

$1 billion in donations

Question 30

what is Japan doing to stop a similar event happening

Answer 30

Policy changed to make sure tsunami walls can deal with rarer but large tsunamis. Also suggested teaching citizens how to evacuate if another large scale tsunami hit.