Living with Earthquakes in Japan (IMPACTS) Case Study - H. E. Flashcards
Roughly how many earthquakes per day does Japan experience?
400
Why does the daily number of earthquakes not render the country desolate?
The vast majority are tiny and are only registered by extremely sensitive instruments
How many major earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7Mw have occurred in Japan since 2000?
23
How many fatalities have occurred in Japan due to the 23 major earthquakes since 2000?
16,000
Which area near Japan is particularly at risk of tsunamis?
The Pacific costal zone
Why is the Pacific costal zone so vulnerable to damage from tsunamis?
There are three large conurbations there
What are the three conurbations and their respective populations in the Pacific coastal zone?
Tokyo (36 million), Osaka (19 million), Nagoya (9 million)
What is the name of the devastating earthquake that occurred in 2011 in Japan?
Tōhoku earthquake
Outline the Tōhoku earthquake. (5)
- occurred 11th March 2011
- magnitude 9.0Mw, lasted 6 mins
- boundary of Pacific and North American plates
- undersea megathrust earthquake
- aftershocks of 7.0-8.0Mw magnitude
Describe the focus and epicentre of the Tōhoku earthquake.
epicentre 70km east of Oshika peninsula, focus approx 30km
How was the geography impacted on a global scale by the Tōhoku earthquake?
Island shifted 2.4m east, Earth shifted 10-25cm on axis
How was the geography affected on a more local scale by the Tōhoku earthquake? (2)
- 400km stretch of coastline dropped by 0.6m
- Seabed rose 7m and moved westward by 40-50m
Outline the range of tsunamis caused by the Tōhoku earthquake. (4)
- max 40.5m at impact on coast
- travelled up to 10km inland
- tsunami reached 2.4m high in California and Oregon
- tsunami in Antarctica broke off ice 125km^2 large
How many fatalities and injuries resulted from the Tōhoku earthquake? Did the demographic suffer in any particular area?
16,000 fatalities, 6000 injured, 2/3 victims over 60
Approximately how many deaths caused by the Tōhoku earthquake were due to drowning? What were other major causes?
90%, burns, crushed due to collapse buildings
How did the Tōhoku earthquake negatively impact a grieving society?
Mass destruction of crematoria and morgues lead to traditional funeral rites being waived, many buried in mass graves to reduce spread of disease
Giving an example, how did damage to infrastructure cause greater harm following the Tōhoku earthquake?
100,000 children affected, 2000 orphaned/lost a parent, children at school made it difficult to find people, one elementary school on coast lost 74/108 students and 10/13 staff
What was the approximate cost of the Tōhoku earthquake?
£181 billion
Outline the damage to buildings and transport caused by the Tōhoku earthquake.
45,700 buildings destroyed, 143,300 damaged, 230,000 vehicles destroyed or damaged, 15 ports directly affected, 10% fishing ports damaged
Outline the impact to power supply of the Tōhoku earthquake.
- 4.4 million households lost electricity
- 11 nuclear reactors immediately shut down
- Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant decommissioned
Describe the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
- all 6 reactors severely damaged
- decommissioned due to damage
- cooling systems disabled by sea water flooding
- meltdown of core + release of radiation
How did the Japanese government deal with the Fukushima Daiichi plant?
30km evacuation zone
Are there long-term impacts of the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi plant?
Yes, radiation continues to seek into Pacific Ocean, impacting fishing industry
Other than the fishing industry, how were other industries directly impacted by the Tōhoku earthquake?
- 2 oil refineries set on fire
- transport industry impacted - bridges destroyed, NE train services disrupted, 23 train stations washed away
