Chapter 2 - Case Study Tohoku Earthquake

Question 1

What were the primary impacts of the Tohoku earthquake?

Answer 1

. Infrastructure were damaged due to liquefaction.

. 1470 deaths occurred due to the earthquake

Question 2

What were the secondary impacts of the Tohoku earthquake?

Answer 2

. A tsunami was triggered by the earthquake. The tsunami reached heights of 57 feet.
. 15,883 died due to the tsunami.
. 2.6 million homes either had no power or no water
. The tsunami cut the main power of the Fukushima plant

Question 3

What were the immediate responses?

Answer 3

. Advanced warnings for the tsunami gave people enough time to escape.
. 140,000 were evacuated around the Fukushima plant ( there was a nuclear meltdown, a 20km exclusion zone was made.)
. Aid came from across the world e.g China, India and the U.S.A

Question 4

What were the long term responses?

Answer 4

. Thousands of prefabricated temporary houses were out up in Sendai.
. Restoration was expected to take ten years.
. By 2015, all of the debris caused by the disaster had been removed
. They then began to build a new sea wall

Question 5

What should be done to reduce the impact of earthquakes?

Answer 5

. Deeper foundations should be built for buildings
. Install shock absorbers and shatter-proof glass
. Drills for such a disaster should be practised
. If the event ever occurred again, emergency services should send text messages to all inhabitants