This means that it is very susceptible to earthquakes e.g. the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale and killing 63 people. As California is a very rich state, it can afford earthquake proof buildings. The Philippines occurs on the Philippine plate boundary (a destructive margin where it is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate). As a result, earthquakes can and do occur, notably on Luzon Island in 1990.
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.
The epicenter is located directly above the focus on the earth’s surface. After the fault splits, seismic waves which are produced of energy are released in all different directions. (United States Geological Survey USGS) Seen to the left are the epicenter, focus, and seismic waves. Smaller earthquakes that occur in the same location before the larger earthquake are called foreshocks. Unfortunately scientists aren’t able to tell if an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake occurs.
(Some geologists argue that this portion of the Eurasian Plate is actually a fragment of the North American Plate called the Okhotsk microplate.) A part of the subduction zone measuring approximately 190 miles (300 km) long by 95 miles (150 km) wide lurched as much as 164 feet (50 metres) to the east-southeast and thrust upward about 33 feet (10 metres). (“Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, 1”) A series of extremely destructive tsunami waves followed the 9.0 earthquake along with the dozens of foreshocks and aftershocks that came with it. The city of Sendai, its surrounding area and airport were pounded by a wave
Environmental Psychology Article Analysis Psychology 460 University of Phoenix October 23, 2011 ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY An earthquake so powerful that it knocks the earth off its axis and the coast drops off three feet. A tsunami follows the earthquake leaving tens of thousands of people dead. When watching a live tsunami along the Japanese coast is quite an amazing sight. It was such an extraordinary and dramatic sight to get to witness broadcasting live into the homes across the world. This is an analysis on what is known to be the largest earthquake and biggest tsunami ever to hit Japan on March 11, 2011.
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?
It also destroyed a lot of property which is estimated to be about $6 billion. This is the biggest earthquake ever to occur and recorded along the fault lines of San Andreas from the previous massive earthquake back in April of 1906. Most of the property devastation that was caused by the earthquake happened in the Oakland and also in San Francisco areas that were about 100 kilometers northwards from the fault line where the section moved in the San Andreas region. A lot of houses collapsed while several reinforced –concrete viaducts were destroyed in four areas of Oakland and also San Francisco. The areas namely: Embarcadero Freeway, Nimitz Freeway, which is in Highway 10, Oakland and the Interstate 280.
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.
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. Stretching from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to northern California is the Cascadia subduction zone, where one giant plate of the Earth's surface is diving deep beneath another one. “The very largest earthquakes all occur on subduction zones”, said seismologist Geoffrey Abers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York. "These are also the faults that make very large tsunamis that propagate across ocean basins to cause a lot of damage.” This means that our home state, Washington, falls into that “at risk” category. The earthquake threat in Washington is
"2011 Miyagi earthquake" redirects here. For the aftershock that occurred on 7 April, see April 2011 Miyagi earthquake. 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami 東北地方太平洋沖地震 An aerial view of damage in the Tōhoku region with black smoke coming from the Nippon Oil Sendai oil refinery Peak tsunami wave height locations, color-coded with red representing most severe Date Friday, 11 March 2011 Origin time 14:46:23 JST (UTC+09:00) Duration 6 minutes[1] Magnitude 9.0 (Mw)[2][3] Depth 32 km (20 mi) Epicenter 38°19′19″N 142°22′08″E / 38.322°N 142.369°E / 38.322; 142.369Coordinates: 38°19′19″N 142°22′08″E / 38.322°N 142.369°E / 38.322; 142.369 Type Megathrust earthquake Countries or regions Japan (primary) Pacific Rim (tsunami, secondary) Total damage Tsunami wave, flooding, landslides, fires, building and infrastructure damage, nuclear incidents including radiation releases Max. intensity IX Peak acceleration 3.0 g Tsunami Yes. 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?