Japan Earthquake Flashcards
Where is Japan
Japan is in Asia,
Region: East Asia
Japan is an island country
What type of country is Japan
Japan is a High Income Country (HIC)
What is Japan’s Human Development Index (HDI)
Japan HDI: 0.925 ranked 19th in the world
What caused Japan Earthquake
Japan is located on eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate.
The Eurasian plate is continental therefore is subducted by the Pacific Plate, an oceanic plate
This formed a subduction zone to the east of Japan.
This type of plate margin is known as destructive plate margin
The process of subduction is not smooth.
Friction causes the Pacific Plate to stick
Pressure builds and is released as an earthquake
When did the earthquake occur
The Japan earthquake occurred on Friday 11th March, 2011 at 2:46 pm (JST, local time)
What was the magnitude of the Japan Earthquake
The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 (on the Richter scale)
Where did the Japan earthquake occur
The Japan earthquake occurred off Japan’s northeast coast, about 250 miles (400km) from the capital, Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles.
What were the Primary Effect (SOCIAL)
Approximately 5,894 people died
26,152 people were injured
30,927 people were displaced
2,562 remain missing.
332,395 buildings
2,126 roads
56 bridges
26 railways
were destroyed or damaged
300 hospitals damaged
11 hospitals destroyed.
Over 4.4 million households left without electricity in North-East Japan
1.5 million without water.
Japan’s transport network suffered huge disruptions.
What were the Primary Effect (Economic)
Negative impact on oil industry
2 refineries were set on fire during earthquake
Negative impact on agriculture
The salt water contaminated the soil and made it impossible to grow crops
Stock Market crashed (negative impacts on companies such as Sony and Toyota)
Production was reduced due to power cuts
Assembly of goods (e.g. cars overseas) were affected by disruption in supply of parts, from Japan
What were the Primary Effect (Environmental )
Japanese authorities estimate 25 million tonnes of debris were created in the three most affected prefectures (counties)
Some coastal areas experienced land subsidence
Beachfronts in some places dropped by more than 50cm
1046 buildings were damaged because of liquefaction in many parts of Tokyo built on reclaimed land
The seabed near epicentre shifted by 24 m, and the seabed off coast of the Miyagi province had moved by 3 m
Salt water contaminated soil and made it impossible to grow crops
What were the Secondary Effect (Social)
130,927 people displaced (homeless)
Rural areas remained isolated for long time because the tsunami destroyed major roads and local trains and buses
What were the Secondary Effect (Economic)
The earthquake was the most expensive natural disaster in history
With an economic cost of US$235 billion.
The world travel and tourism council said foreign visitor numbers in June and July were 36% lower than the same period last year
What were the Secondary Effect (Environmental)
The earthquake caused a tsunami
This caused a nuclear disaster at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Waves up to 40 m in height devastated entire coastal areas and resulted in the loss of thousands of lives
This caused lot of damage and pollution up to 6 miles inland
What were the immediate responses
Over 300,000 left homeless and needed access to food, water, shelter and medicine
The army helped to build many temporary shelters very quickly.
Japanese red cross received over $1 billion in donations
Japanese red cross gave out over 300,000 emergency relief kits and 14,000 sleeping bags
Rescue services and army cleared roads and created access paths
They cleared debris left by roads caused by the Earthquake and Tsunami
Doctors and nurses were flown from other parts of the country to help with the relief efforts Many patients were flown far out of the emergency area to receive treatment.
What were the long-term responses
Billions of pounds spent in making buildings more resistant to earthquakes
Such as:
- using types of glass that do not shatter
- weights in the building to counter the sway
- huge shock absorbers in the foundations
Over £70 million spent on lasers used to monitor even the slightest movements of tectonic plates
The government set up a Reconstruction Design Council who had budget of over 23 trillion Yen to rebuild houses
The runway at Sendai Airport had been badly damaged
It was restored and reusable by 29th of March due to joint effort by Japanese Defence Force and US Army
