Japan 2011 Flashcards
(9 cards)
Describe the 2011 Japan earthquake
Magnitude 9.0 on richter scale
250 miles from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles
70km from tohoku
followed by tsunami
2011, 2:46pm
Why did this earthquake happen?
- Japan is located on the eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate
- Oceanic pacific plate subducts under eurasian plate on destructive plate boundary
- friction between Eurasian plate and Pacific Plate built up and released to cause a megathrust earthquake
Primary impacts
700 deaths caused by the earthquake
more than 120 000 homes and buildings destroyed
Oil refinery set on fire due to damaged pipes
Infrastructure badly damaged
Fujinuma Dam failed
Minor liquefaction
Secondary impacts
40 meter tall tsunami travelled 10km inland
15,900 people died due to tsunami
450,000 people left homeless
Fukushima Nuclear Power plant very badly damaged - nuclear meltdown - 70,000 people evacuated
total cost around $200 billion
Short term responses
Tsunami warnings three minutes after the earthquake.
Emergency services and 100,000 members
Japan received help from international search and rescue teams from New Zealand, US, South Korea +
People displaced were sent to temporary shelters
Debris cleared in 2 days
Long term responses
New tsunami wall built - 25-30m high
£25 million warning system in 2013
96% of electricity restored by November
Long term planning
Earthquake drills every year in schools and work places
Emergency services are specially trained in earthquake responses
Government funding for future earthquake hazards
Long term preparation
Earthquake proof buildings to withstand shockwaves - cross bracing, counter balance, shock absorbers
Larger sea walls constructed
Earthquake and Tsunami alert sent to every phone
Earthquake survival kits in homes
Prediction
Technology that can predict where and earthquake will hit
Buoys in the ocean detect offshore earthquakes
Tsunamis predicted easily using data from magnitude and location
