Effects of the Tohoku Earthquake

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Effects of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Rod M GEOL 1410 Abstract On March 11, 2011, 100 kilometers off the coast of Japan, there was a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale. It is know as The Tohoku Earthquake. This happened at the local time of 14:46:24. This earthquake also caused a monster tsunami to follow which caused 30 000 people to be killed or reported missing. Post disaster reports show that over 15 000 lives were lost. There were many reports of long-period ground motions near Tokyo, Nagoya and, Osaka. There was also a precursor earthquake to this, which happened on March 9, 2011 approximately 35 kilometers from the epicenter of the main earthquake on March 11. There was an estimated economical loss ranging from 100 billion US dollars to 500 billion dollars. There was a series of aftershocks from this earthquake since the original hit, some registering over 6 on the Richter scale. Affects of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Introduction The Tohoku Earthquake is the most destructive Japanese earthquake since the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. This earthquake created a tsunami that reached almost 40m high in some places. The magnitude of the earthquake combined with the destructive forces of the tsunami killed over 15 000 people and caused an estimated 309 billion USD in damages. (USGS Report, 2012) This earthquake was so powerful that it even caused ice shelves in Antarctica to break off into the ocean. (NGDC Hazard Report, 2012) Several nuclear power plants were also damaged from the earthquake and tsunami causing a disaster in itself. This report will discuss the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the short and long term impacts it had on Japan. Cause and Warnings Cause A subduction zone in the Pacific Ocean caused the Tohoku Earthquake. The Japan Trench subduction zone has hosted

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