Living with Earthquakes - Japan

Question 1

How often do earthquakes occur in Japan?

Answer 1

400 every day
since 2000, there have been 23 earthquakes of 7 Mw or above

Question 2

what risk do earthquakes bring with them?

Answer 2

tsunamis

Question 3

where in Japan is most vulnerable to earthquakes?

Answer 3

Pacific coastal zone
densely populated
three conurbations
Tokoyo, Osaka, Nagoya

Question 4

facts about the Tohoku earthquake, 2011

Answer 4

9.0 Mw
lasted 6 minutes
One of top 5 earthquakes recorded
undersea megathrust earthquake
earth shifted on its axis 10-25 cm
sea bed rose 7m
large tsunami’s triggered all the way to USA, causing damage $10 million
110,000 nesting birds drowned

Question 5

how many people were injured/killed by the earthquake?

Answer 5

16000 killed
6000 injured

Question 6

how were the deaths caused?

Answer 6

90% due to drowning

Question 7

how did the deaths effect tradition?

Answer 7

crematoriums, morgues and power infrastructure destroyed
no way to dispose of bodies so they were buried in mass graves to stop diseases being spread
traditional funeral practises abandoned

Question 8

how were children affected by the earthquake?

Answer 8

100,000 children affected
2000 orphaned

Question 9

how much infrastructure was destroyed?

Answer 9

45,700 buildings destroyed
143,000 damaged
housing, schools and health centres were destroyed to an extent that meant they were being repaired 5 years later
some communities still haven’t returned to their original location

Question 10

how much did the earthquake cost Japan?

Answer 10

£181 billion

Question 11

how many ports were destroyed?

Answer 11

15 ports
10% of fishing ports

Question 12

how were power supplies disrupted?

Answer 12

4.4 million households and thousands of businesses lost electricity
immediate shutdown of 11 nuclear reactors
at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant so damaged that they were decommissioned
soils around the plant contaminated by radiation
several weeks of power cuts

Question 13

how was transport impacted by the earthquake?

Answer 13

230,000 vehicles destroyed
23 train stations swept away

Question 14

how much debris was created by the earthquake?

Answer 14

25 million tonnes

Question 15

what was the effect on the stock market?

Answer 15

fell
implications for businesses such as Sony, Toyota…
production stopped
overseal operation affected, limiting imported parts

Question 16

what were the political impacts of the earthquake?

Answer 16

government injected billions of yen into the economy - increased government debt
popular movement against nuclear power after concerns over regulations and safety