Living with Earthquakes in Japan (IMPACTS) Case Study - H. E.

Question 1

Roughly how many earthquakes per day does Japan experience?

Answer 1

400

Question 2

Why does the daily number of earthquakes not render the country desolate?

Answer 2

The vast majority are tiny and are only registered by extremely sensitive instruments

Question 3

How many major earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7Mw have occurred in Japan since 2000?

Answer 3

23

Question 4

How many fatalities have occurred in Japan due to the 23 major earthquakes since 2000?

Answer 4

16,000

Question 5

Which area near Japan is particularly at risk of tsunamis?

Answer 5

The Pacific costal zone

Question 6

Why is the Pacific costal zone so vulnerable to damage from tsunamis?

Answer 6

There are three large conurbations there

Question 7

What are the three conurbations and their respective populations in the Pacific coastal zone?

Answer 7

Tokyo (36 million), Osaka (19 million), Nagoya (9 million)

Question 8

What is the name of the devastating earthquake that occurred in 2011 in Japan?

Answer 8

Tōhoku earthquake

Question 9

Outline the Tōhoku earthquake. (5)

Answer 9

• occurred 11th March 2011
• magnitude 9.0Mw, lasted 6 mins
• boundary of Pacific and North American plates
• undersea megathrust earthquake
• aftershocks of 7.0-8.0Mw magnitude

Question 10

Describe the focus and epicentre of the Tōhoku earthquake.

Answer 10

epicentre 70km east of Oshika peninsula, focus approx 30km

Question 11

How was the geography impacted on a global scale by the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 11

Island shifted 2.4m east, Earth shifted 10-25cm on axis

Question 12

How was the geography affected on a more local scale by the Tōhoku earthquake? (2)

Answer 12

• 400km stretch of coastline dropped by 0.6m

- Seabed rose 7m and moved westward by 40-50m

Question 13

Outline the range of tsunamis caused by the Tōhoku earthquake. (4)

Answer 13

• max 40.5m at impact on coast
• travelled up to 10km inland
• tsunami reached 2.4m high in California and Oregon
• tsunami in Antarctica broke off ice 125km^2 large

Question 14

How many fatalities and injuries resulted from the Tōhoku earthquake? Did the demographic suffer in any particular area?

Answer 14

16,000 fatalities, 6000 injured, 2/3 victims over 60

Question 15

Approximately how many deaths caused by the Tōhoku earthquake were due to drowning? What were other major causes?

Answer 15

90%, burns, crushed due to collapse buildings

Question 16

How did the Tōhoku earthquake negatively impact a grieving society?

Answer 16

Mass destruction of crematoria and morgues lead to traditional funeral rites being waived, many buried in mass graves to reduce spread of disease

Question 17

Giving an example, how did damage to infrastructure cause greater harm following the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 17

100,000 children affected, 2000 orphaned/lost a parent, children at school made it difficult to find people, one elementary school on coast lost 74/108 students and 10/13 staff

Question 18

What was the approximate cost of the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 18

£181 billion

Question 19

Outline the damage to buildings and transport caused by the Tōhoku earthquake.

Answer 19

45,700 buildings destroyed, 143,300 damaged, 230,000 vehicles destroyed or damaged, 15 ports directly affected, 10% fishing ports damaged

Question 20

Outline the impact to power supply of the Tōhoku earthquake.

Answer 20

• 4.4 million households lost electricity
• 11 nuclear reactors immediately shut down
• Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant decommissioned

Question 21

Describe the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Answer 21

• all 6 reactors severely damaged
• decommissioned due to damage
• cooling systems disabled by sea water flooding
• meltdown of core + release of radiation

Question 22

How did the Japanese government deal with the Fukushima Daiichi plant?

Answer 22

30km evacuation zone

Question 23

Are there long-term impacts of the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi plant?

Answer 23

Yes, radiation continues to seek into Pacific Ocean, impacting fishing industry

Question 24

Other than the fishing industry, how were other industries directly impacted by the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 24

• 2 oil refineries set on fire

- transport industry impacted - bridges destroyed, NE train services disrupted, 23 train stations washed away

Question 25

How was farming impacted by the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 25

25 million tonnes of debris had to be cleared, much of farmland flooded + contaminated by salt leaving it uncultivable

Question 26

How was the world’s economy impacted as a result of the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 26

• Japan’s Stockmarket fell
• Sony, Toyota, Panasonic impacted by lack of electricity
• global exports suffered

Question 27

How did the Japanese government attempt to stabilise its economy following the Tōhoku earthquake?

Answer 27

By injecting billions of yen into economy, especially financial sector, increasing governmental debt

Question 28

How has the Tōhoku earthquake impacted the carbon cycle in the country?

Answer 28

Strong opposition to nuclear power increased reliance on fossil fuels and the associated carbon emissions

Question 29

Which island were also significantly impacted by the resulting tsunami from the Tōhoku earthquake, what was the height of the wave and how from the epicentre was it?

Answer 29

Kuril Island, Russia, wave height of 2.5m, 1750km away from epicentre