The earthquake’s strongest point lasted for around 8-10 minutes. The tsunami created a permanent rise in global sea level by at least 0.1mm and it caused an inactive volcano located in the Leuser Mountain, Indonesia to active. Did you know the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 atomic bombs. *Location* The tsunami was located in 15 different countries. The countries which were affected the most include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
The Great Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan and sent a thirty-three foot tsunami raging down the coast to devastate their towns even further. To make matters even worse, the earthquake also triggered a nuclear emergency that has been compared to the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. (McCurry, 1) This earthquake was the worst earthquake in Japan’s recorded history. (McCurry, 1) It would not be surprising if people will still talk about it for centuries to come. The earthquake began off of the north-eastern coast of Honshu and caused catastrophic damage.
The 1993 southwest-off Hokkaido earthquake occurred at 22:17 on 12 July 1993 in the Sea of Japan near the island of Hokkaido. It had a magnitude of 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale (newer version of the Richter scale) and a maximum felt intensity of VIII on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a major tsunami that caused deaths on Hokkaidō and in southeastern Russia, with a total of 239 fatalities recorded. The island of Okushiri was hardest hit, with 165 casualties from the earthquake, the tsunami and a large landslide. The earthquake occurred in the backarc region of the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducted beneath the Eurasian Plate.
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?
The belt extends from Chile, northward along the South American coast through Central America, Mexico, the West Coast of the United States, and the southern part of Alaska, through the Aleutian Islands to Japan, the Philippine Islands, New Guinea, the island groups of the Southwest Pacific, and to New Zealand. This earthquake belt was responsible for 70,000 deaths in Peru in May 1970, and 65 deaths and a billion dollars' damage in California in February 1971. As disaster crews and scientists examine the havoc wrought in Haiti, questions emerge as to whether such a vastly destructive disaster could happen at home in the United States. Would citizens know how to react? Cities are located near dangerous earthquake zones all throughout the country, from the most infamous on the West Coast to potential time bombs in the Midwest and even on the Eastern Seaboard.
Along the coast of south America, the Nazca plate is moving towards the south American plate. The Nazca plate is oceanic, hence denser; therefore it is subducted underneath the continental crust into the mantle. As the Nazca plate bends down into the mantle it forms a deep oceanic trench. This is made up of long, deep gorges in the sea bed that occur around the edges of some oceans including the Pacific Ocean. The force of one plate being dragged under another causes intense friction and the pressure increases.
The earthquake was particularly devastating because it had a shallow focus. The earthquake had a "strike-slip mechanism." The resulting surface rupture had an average horizontal displacement of about 1.5 meters on the Nojima fault. This fault which runs along the northwest shore of Awaji Island. DEATH TOLL The earthquake caused 5100 deaths, mainly in Kobe.
2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami On Friday, 11 March, 2011, at 2:46PM local time in Japan, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck 45 miles off the east coast of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku, Japan. The nearest major city to the quake was Sendai, Honshu, Japan, 81 miles away. The earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 77 feet that struck Japan minutes after the quake, in some cases traveling up to 6 miles inland, with smaller waves reaching many other countries after several hours. The Japanese National Police Agency has officially confirmed 10,804 deaths, 2,776 injured and 16,244 people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. 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.
JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI AND IT’S IMPACT ON THE REGION INTRODUCTION 1. On 11 March 2011 Japanese off coast was hit by undersea mega thrust earthquake named “The Great East Japan Earthquake” having the magnitude 9.0 (Mw) with the epicentre approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku. It was 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 earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 38.9 metres (128 ft) that struck Japan, in some cases traveling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. 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.
Up to 40.5 m (133 ft) in Miyako, Iwate, Tōhoku Landslides Yes Foreshocks 7 Aftershocks 1,235 Casualties 15,844 deaths,[4][5] 5,893 injured,[4][5] 3,394 people missing[4][5] The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku (東北地方太平洋沖地震, Tōhoku-chihō Taiheiyō Oki Jishin? ),[6] also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake,[7] or the Great East Japan Earthquake,[8][9][fn 1] was a magnitude 9.0 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on Friday, 11 March 2011,[2][3][10] with the epicenter approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 32 km (20 mi). [2][11] It was the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. [10][12][13] The earthquake triggered powerful