Case Study Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 11/03/11

About

A massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, Friday afternoon, on 11 March 011 ! 0"#$ %M& &he quake 'as centred 1(0 ki)ometres to the east of the prefecture*s capita), +endai. A tsunami 'as sent crashing into the country*s north-eastern coast. ,t 'as origina))y reported at a magnitude of -.9, .ut )ater 'as upgraded to /.9 and then to a 9.0. ,t )asted $ minutes. &hat makes it the fifth )argest recorded 'or)d'ide since 1900, according to the 0.+. %eo)ogica) +ervice, )arger than the -.9-magnitude %reat 1anto 2arthquake that devastated &okyo in 19 ( or the $./ magnitude quake that hit 1o.e in 199". ,t had 10,000 times more energy than the magnitude $.( earthquake in 3hristchurch, 4e' 5ea)and, 'hich struck 1- days ear)ier

The Cause

Japan is )ocated on the east edge of the 2urasian 6)ate. &he oceanic 6acific 6)ate su.ducts 7sinks under8 the 2urasian 6)ate. &his p)ate margain is 9destructive: ; it is not a smooth process, friction is present and the p)ates stick. <hen the p)ates stick, tension .ui)ds up.

<hen this pressure .ui)ds up and is re)eased, it causes a rapid shift in the p)ates and a )ot of energy to .e re)ease, in this case a.out the same as the annua) energy output of the 01.

Impa t

Japan 'as )arge)y prepared for the earthquake and many .ui)dings remained standing after'ards, .ut it 'as not prepared for the su.sequent &sunami. A tsunami 'arning e=tended to at )east "0 nations and territories, as far a'ay as +outh America. >amage 'as caused in &okyo and many in?uries in the north 'here the quake 'as centred &he yen fe)) sharp)y .ut recouped most of its dec)ine severa) hours )ater. &okyo stocks fe)). @oca) te)evision sho'ed smoke rising from a &okyo port .ui)ding, fire in the capita)*s 'aterfront Adai.a district and an oi) refinery a.)aBe in ,chihara, near &okyo. A tsunami measured at any'here from one meter to -.( meters hit at various p)aces a)ong the coast, 'hi)e a 10-meter tsunami 'as seen at the port in +endai, near the epicentre. Aftershocks 'ere continuing, 'ith one hitting magnitude -.1, according to the 0+%+. &a)) .ui)dings s'ayed vio)ent)y in centra) &okyo as the aftershocks hit. ,mmediate po'er outages in &okyo and eight other prefectures reported)y affected some # mi))ion homes.

,n ,'ate 6refecture a .ridge co))apsed and a .ui)ding 'as 'ashed a'ay, 'ith .oats and cars s'ir)ing around in the rising 'aters. ,n &okyo, hundreds of concerned office 'orkers tried in vain to make ca))s on ?ammed ce))phone net'orks, some 'earing hard hats and other protective headgear. Many of them streamed out of .ui)dings in the .usiness district, gathering in open areas. &he cro'd appeared spooked .y the sound of g)ass 'indo's ratt)ing in ta)) .ui)dings. &raders said most of the se))ing 'as offshore as &okyo traders evacuated. &he yen cou)d .e in for further dec)ines as the sca)e of the damage .ecomes kno'n. &okyo*s ma?or airports ha)ted f)ights, though Caneda Airport 'as )ater reported to have reopened severa) run'ays. A)) &okyo area trains 'ere ha)ted, 'hi)e the shinkansen .u))et train service 'as suspended. <ater cou)d .e seen rising over cars and pouring into 'arehouses at Anahama port in Fukushima 6refecture, 'ith five deaths reported in Fukushima. &'o nuc)ear p)ants on the 6acific coast in Fukushima 'ere automatica))y shut do'n. At Fukushima the su.sequent tsunami disa.)ed emergency generators required to coo) the reactors. Aver the fo))o'ing three 'eeks there 'as evidence of a partia) nuc)ear me)tdo'n in units 1, and (D visi.)e e=p)osions, suspected to .e caused .y hydrogen gas, in units 1 and (D a suspected e=p)osion in unit , that may have damaged the primary containment vesse)D and a possi.)e uncovering of the units 1, ( and # spent fue) poo)s. Eadiation re)eases caused )arge evacuations, concern over food and 'ater supp)ies, and treatment of nuc)ear 'orkers. &he ,A2A has rated the events at )eve) -, the same as 3heno.y), and the highest on the sca)e ; meaning that there is a ma?or re)ease of radio active materia) 'ith 'idespread hea)th and environmenta) effects. &he situation has .een further compounded .y numerous aftershocks. ,000 peop)e confirmed dead 10,000 more peop)e e=pected to .e confirmed dead ,000 peop)e in?ured "(0,000 peop)e disp)aced, staying in ,"00 evacuation centres, such as schoo)s and pu.)ic ha))s #,000 peop)e sti)) comp)ete)y iso)ated and cannot .e reached 1. mi))ion homes 'ithout po'er 1.# mi))ion homes 'ithout 'ater #,-00 destroyed houses "0,000 damaged houses "/ roads cut off ( .ridges destroyed

!esponse

A &sunami 'arning 'as issued ( minutes after the earthquake.

6rime Minister 4aoto 1an, 'ho convened an emergency 3a.inet meeting, urged the nation to .e ca)m and said the government 'i)) do its utmost to minimiBe damage from the quake. Ce to)d a ne's conference a )arge amount of damage had occurred in the northern &ohoku region. A Meteoro)ogica) Agency officia) appeared on &F urging those affected .y the quake not to return home .ecause of possi.)e tsunamis. o 9,n some areas 'e have issued a 'arning of tsunamis of higher than 10 meters and 'e e=pect these areas 'i)) e=perience the high 'ater )eve)s soon,: said the officia). 96)ease stay on high a)ert.: &he governor of Miyagi 6refecture asked for Japanese mi)itary forces to .e sent in to he)p. &he >efence Ministry 'as sending eight fighter ?ets to check the damage, the agency said. &he government set up a task force at the 6rime Minister*s Affice. &he Gank of Japan set up a disaster contro) team, headed .y GAJ %ov. Masaaki +hiraka'a, to assess the impact of the earthquake on financia) markets as 'e)) as on financia) institutions* .usiness operations. ,n response, 91 countries have offered aid, from .)ankets and food to search dogs and mi)itary transport. &he Japanese government is among the .est prepared in the 'or)d for disasters and has so far on)y made specific requests for he)p, such as ca))ing for search and rescue teams. +evera) charities, inc)uding +ave the 3hi)dren 01, Gritish Eed 3ross and <or)d Fision 01, are asking for donations. A Gritish rescue team has arrived in Japan to ?oin the search for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. Fifty-nine search and rescue e=perts, four medics and t'o sniffer dogs f)e' out on a private charter p)ane 'ith 11 tonnes of equipment on .oard. Modern innovations, such as &'itter 'ere .ringing updates on the situation far ear)ier than the media.