In addition to loss of life and destruction of infrastructure, the tsunami caused a number of nuclear accidents and the associated evacuation zones affecting hundreds of thousands of residents. The overall cost could exceed US$300 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster on record. 2. The full impact of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami will not be known for some time. The world’s focus at this time is on the enormous loss of life as a result of this tragedy.
As a result, earthquakes can and do occur, notably on Luzon Island in 1990. It measured 7.8 on the Richter Scale and killed over 1500 people. A reason for this major difference in death rate compared to California is that the Philippines is poorer than California and so cannot afford as much earthquake-proof buildings and the buildings are of poor quality. This may mean the buildings can collapse easily and so can kill people easily. A natural hazard that does not affect California but common in the Philippines are tropical storms.
Using a tectonic activity you have studied, how effective was the management of the event? On 12th January 2010, at 16:53, a Magnitude 7 earthquake struck with epicentre just a short distance west of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital city. 3,000,000 people required aid, 230,000 died, and 1,000,000 people were made homeless. It is true to say that a M7 earthquake would cause devastation in any country, but this was particularly so in Haiti due to the poor management of the event. There are three main factors to consider when assessing the management of a tectonic event: prediction, preparation, and response.
Words simply cannot appropriately depict the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011. Japan is a developed country with the third largest economy in the world, behind the United States and China. The northeast border of Japan encountered an overwhelming natural disaster in the form of an earthquake that also created a massive tsunami and many strong aftershocks, which has affected Japan domestically and internationally. The aftershocks continually delayed recovery and have increased difficulty for search and rescue teams combing the disaster area for the deceased and wounded. The earthquake and tsunami effected Japan's major export: Rice.
Seismic shockwaves travelled from Awaji Island (the epicentre) along the Nojima Fault to the cities of Kobe and Osaka. This region is the second most populated and industrialized area after Tokyo, with a total population of about 10 million. The ground shook for only 20 seconds but in that short time around 5,000 people died, over 300,000 people became homeless and economic cost of about £100 billion was caused to roads, houses, factories and infrastructure. However Japan is known for its earthquakes proof structures. So why did so many people die?
DEATH TOLL The earthquake caused 5100 deaths, mainly in Kobe. The Hanshin earthquake was the worst earthquake in Japan since the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, which is also called the Great Kanto earthquake. The Great Kanto earthquake claimed 140,000 lives. On the other hand, the Kobe region was thought to be fairly safe in terms of seismic activity. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE The cities of Kobe and Osaka are connected by an elevated highway.
Estimates of the Tohoku earthquake's magnitude make it the most powerful known earthquake to have hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world overall since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The Fukushima I, Fukushima II, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant and Tokai nuclear power stations, consisting of a total eleven reactors, were automatically shut down following the earthquake. Japan's government said the cost of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast could reach $309 billion, making it the world's most expensive natural disaster on record. According to the chief scientist for the Multi-Hazards project at the U.S. Geological Survey, the fact that the Tohoku earthquake took place in Japan—a country with "the best seismic information in the world"—meant that large amounts of data were collected for an earthquake of this type and severity. Japan specifically requested teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States; it also requested, via its space agency JAXA, the activation of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, allowing diverse satellite imagery of affected regions to be
This is an analysis on what is known to be the largest earthquake and biggest tsunami ever to hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The earthquake and tsunami Japans coast lies in ruins after the earthquake hit followed by the tsunami picking up everything in its path like cars, houses, and warehouses. Seismometers, strain gages, and title gages records the disaster. P-waves travel at four miles a second and within seconds warnings flash across the country. The S-waves shake the ground making earthquakes so damaging and the reactor core is shut down (Kerger, 2011.
After the earthquake in Japan also known as the Fukushima disaster, the problem of nuclear energy in Japan became the main focus of the world. The earthquake broke the structure of the reactors, this lead to several of explosions, and most seriously- the leaking radioactive substances. Countries like Germany dislike the idea of nuclear energy, because they believe using nuclear energy is risky and the waste that nuclear energy produces causes a lot of problems. Recently people seemed to go against nuclear energy because of the Fukushima accident (Ng 12), however, most of the other countries still use nuclear energy as the main energy resource in the country. Countries should use nuclear energy because it is eco-friendly, it can produce a lot of energy, and it is the best energy resource we can use so far.
Moral Obligation and Moral Distance The given statement invokes several moral questions and concerns in light of our moral obligations and boundaries. “There is an earthquake that wrecks havoc in Farawayistan so that 1000 people are left without homes or livelihood; and there is a hurricane in the USA that does the same”. Both cases depict a grave catastrophe that supposedly attract similar attention despite occurring in different geographic locations. At stake is not only victims’ basic welfare but also their lives. At this point, the ball is in our court.