Great Tohoku Earthquake Flashcards
(8 cards)
When was the Great Tohoku earthquake?
11th march 2011
What was its magnitude?
9.0mW
What was it caused by?
Destructive - oceanic plate subducting beneath North American Plate
Social Impacts
16,000 killed and 6,000 injured
2,500 missing
4.4 million households left without electricity (NE Japan) and 1.5 million without water
Over 700 schools destroyed
2,000 healthcare facilities affected and pneumonia and elderly mortality rose
over 470,000 evacuated
330,000 left homeless
Economic Impact
$235 billion in damages
2,500 businesses destroyed
Over 20,000 hectares of farmland flooded and fishing boats destroyed
23 train stations destroyed
2,100 roads, 56 bridges and 26 railways damaged
Sendai airport submerged
1 million buildings damaged NE Japan
Oil refineries in Sendai set on fire
Fisheries along tohoku coast collapsed
Environmental Impact
Tsunami led to salinification of 561km coastal farmland
Fukushima meltdown released iodine-131 which contaminated air, soil, groundwater and pacific waters
20km exclusion zone around Fukushima
Tsunami caused massive slabs of ice to carve from Antarctica
radioactive fish 500km away from coast
Short-term response
100,000 japan defense forces deployed
evacuation of 470,000
2,000 evacuation shelters established
116 countries offered international aid
US operation Tomodachi - 24 ships 200 aircraft and 24,000 personnel
Long-term responses
Fukushima decommissioning 30-40 year plan with $200 billion cost
Towns relocated and elevated
established sea walls 15m tall in some places, protecting 400km of coastline
Upgraded warning system - 10 seconds
Increased disaster education with nationwide drills and in schools
