Tohoku earthquake 2011 Flashcards
What is the key information about the Japan earthquake
11th of March 2011
Magnitude 9
Time: 2:46pm
The epicentre was located under the ocean floor and the water was pushed up at a speed of 800kph
What was the location of the earthquake
North-eastern coast of Honshu
What was the cause of the earthquakes
on the 9th of March there was an earthquake on the plate boundaries 7.2 on the Richter scale
The pacific plate is moving westwards, towards the Eurasian plate. As the pacific plate is denser it dips beneath japan. This puts extra strain on existing pressure build up
What are the primary effects of the earthquake
Tsunami (sendai)–> water flowed 10km inland
Japan’s national police agency confirmed 15,676 deaths
6,000 injured
5,000 missing
65% of deaths were 60+
27% of deaths were 70+
45,700 buildings were destroyed
300 hospitals damaged
What were the secondary effects
1.5 million houses without water supply
4.4 million homes without electricity
Due to the tsunami the Sendai airport was rendered unusable which limited future aid accessibility
452,000 were living in evacuation facilities–> which were inadequate causing hypothermia
11 elderly people died due to the night time temperatures -4C
What were the short term responses?
Rules on burial procedures had to be relaxed to permit the burial of bodies without cremation
The Fukushima nuclear power station needed to be cooled to avert radioactive leakage
The Japanese red cross opened its appeal for aid funds without hours of disaster
The red cross made 70,000 temporary prefabricated homes with key appliances for 280,000 people hardest hit
What were the long term responses
The Fukushima nuclear power station will now be strength tested for tectonic movements
Due to the meltdown, it prompted Japan to move towards solar energy
Decontamination of soil, water and infrastructure affected by radiation as well as on going monitoring and containment of radioactive materials
Japan invested in coastal infrastructure improvements, such as sea walls and tsunami-resistant structures, to protect communities from future disasters
