Tokoku 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

Question 1

Tohoku (Japanese region) background information

Answer 1

1.Population: 9.3 million (2010)
2. Population density: 120 per km² (2010)
3. Highly developed country: HDI of 0.898 ranking 21/187 (2010) Life expectancy of 82.84 years (2010) GDP per capita of $44,968 (2010)

(HDI, life expectancy and GDP per capita are based on Japan as a whole)

Question 2

Date, time and location

Answer 2

Date: March 11th 2011
Time: 2:46 PM (local time)
Epicentre: 130km East of Sendai (largest city in Tohoku) - in the North Pacific Ocean

Question 3

Earthquake information

Answer 3

Plates: Pacific plate subducting Eurasian plate
Magnitude: 9.1 (Richter Scale)
Duration: 6 minutes

Subduction of the Pacific plate resulted in stick and flip of the Eurasian plate. The Eurasian plate was uplifted 9 metres, displacing the water column above it leading to a 40 metre tsunami which struck Sendai 10m minutes after the earthquake.

Question 4

Social impacts

Answer 4

15,676 confirmed deaths (the real number is likely over 18,000)
4832 missing
5712 injured
Loss of power at Fukushima power plant led to a reactor meltdown where 200,000 people in a 20km radius had to be evacuated

Question 5

Economic impacts

Answer 5

130,000 buildings destroyed - 144,300 more damaged
300 hospitals damged - 11 more destroyed
Estimated cost of $300 billion

Question 6

Governance

Answer 6

Within days 452,000 were living in evacuation facilities
Damage to roads, railways and airports slowd transport - preventing military aid providing food and vaccines
Japanese Red Cross appealed for aid funds - British public could donate. This resulted in:
1. Provision of first aid and emergency health
2. Distrubuting relief items
3. Fitting 70,000 pre fabricated homes with key appliances.

Question 7

Summary

Answer 7

Despite Japan’s high level of development and high GDP allowing it to invest into earthquake resistant technology such as rubber shock absorbers which absorb energy instead of the building and ductile steel framework which bends and sways with out collapsing. The sheer amount of energy released during this incredibly high magnitude earthquake was too much for even a country with an incredibly high coping capacity to withstand. Coupled with the tsunami ( a low frequency high magnitude event) resulted in such a disaster