Japan 2011
On the 11th March 2011 Japan suffered one of the worst Earthquakes and Tsunamis of all time. It happened in the north-east of Japan. The tsunami began when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake was triggered off the north-east coast of Honshu, the main island in Japan. The tsunami devastated many coastal regions in the area and also trigger a major nuclear problem at the power plant in Fukishima.
‘’The earthquake hit Japan at 2:46pm, with the focus being at a depth of 18.6 miles below the ocean floor of the Pacific Ocean.”(Britannia School, John P.Rafferty 2011) The epicentre was a mere 80 miles east of the city of Sendai. “The cause of the earthquake was a sudden break of the subduction zone associated with the Japanese Trench. The Japanese Trench separates the Eurasian plate from the subducting Pacific Plate. This subduction zone moved to the southeast by as much as 164 feet and burst upwards 33 feet causing the tsunami wave.” (Britannica School, John P.Rafferty 2011)
This process is called subduction, and a convergent boundary as the Pacific Plate went under the Eurasian plate causing the Eurasian plate to burst upwards. “The earthquake was felt as far away as Russia and Figure 1( Britannica School 2011) Beijing.” (Britannica School, John P.Rafferty 2011) It was followed by many aftershocks, one of a magnitude of 7.2, 25 miles away from the epicentre of the main earthquake. "It was the fourth most powerful quake ever recorded. (Britannica School, J P.Rafferty 2011.)
Figure 2 N.A Google Images
The eruption of the Pacific plate created many dangerous and destructive tsunami waves. “One wave measuring more than 33 feet” (Brita...
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... at $130 billion US dollars. The environment also suffered as well. The last existing wild panda’s habitat was damaged “more than 23% of it.” (e! Science News, 2009, Author N.A.) Also flooding and fires damaged rainforests and the forests surrounding Sichuan. But it was said that it wouldn’t take long for China to rebuild, meaning it would take less than 10 years.
To conclude the Japan 2011 earthquake had a greater impact compared to China 2008 because more people died and the economic loss was greater. Also the earthquake in Japan triggered a tsunami that did more damage to Japan than Chinas earthquake did to China and that’s because the earthquake was of a 9.0 magnitude not 7.9. It seemed like a lot of people were effecting in China, but that was because of how densely populated the area was. Overall Japan 2011 was a more powerful and destructive earthquake.
The scenario mentioned above was based on the rupture located along the Cascadia fault line. This fault system runs from Northern California to Vancouver Island about 700 miles off the shore (FOX5). Scientists use to believe that the San Andreas Fault was where a large earthquake tsunami would originate, but recently their attention has shifted to the Cascadia subduction zone which is now said to be much more dangerous than previously thought (FOX5). Recent earthquake events have added even more tension and possibility for a large-scale tsunami. On March 10, 2014, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California, which put a lot of stress on the Mendocino Triple Junction (Davidson). The Mendocino Triple Junction is where three tectonic plates collide, and is very unstable (Davidson). This junction has all this built up pressure and is about ready to explode. Scientists believe that this junction will be the origin of a tear along the 680-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Davidson). The disaster that follows will be considered the United State’s largest modern-day earthquake.
The tsunami in Thailand that occurred on December 26, 2004, was by far the largest tsunami catastrophe in human history. It was triggered by a magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake along the Indian-Australian subduction zone off the northern coast of Sumatra. The tsunami waves traveled primarily in the east to west direction and caused major damage along the coasts of southern Thailand. Unpredictably, it was a violent earthquake beneath the sea that initiated the massive waves and struck more than a dozen countries in Southern Asia. It also destroyed thousands of miles of coastline and even submerged entire islands permanently. Throughout the region, the tsunami killed more than 150,000 people, and a million more were hurt, homeless, and without food or drinkable water, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in the modern history. In spite of peninsular Thailand's location facing the northern part of this subduction zone, the lack of any written historical records, together with the lack of any major local seismic activity, the tsunami caused thousands of fatalities and huge economic losses in the popular tourist regions in Thailand. Immediately after the disaster, numerous organizations and individual citizens have helped out and contributed to this devastating tsunami. Indeed, the tsunami in Thailand was a worldwide event, with significant wave action felt around the world. In this context, I am focusing more on the key features of the tsunami’s natural causes, the psychological effects on citizens, the perspective of socio-economic impacts and the consequences of the tsunami calamity.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake Jared E. Gatchalian San Jose State University. 1906 San Francisco Earthquake The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damage and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami took place on December 26th, 2004 and had a magnitude of 9.15. The cause of the Sumatra Tsunami was due to the sliding of two tectonic plates. Sumatra, an island in Indonesia, is situated on the boundary of the two plates; part of Sumatra is situated on the India/Australian plate and the other part is on the Eurasian plate. The Indian/Australian plate and Eurasian plate connect on the ocean floor at the boundary, a little over 100 miles off the short of Sumatra. Sumatra was one among the many countries that was impacted by these natural disasters. To fully understand the Sumatra Tsunami one must examine the events that led up to it, what a tsunami is, and the damage caused.
TOHOKU, Japan, Friday, Mar. 11 -Yesterday, a 9.0 magnitude Earthquake struck the east of Tohoku, Japan. The epicentre of the earthquake was located approximately 72 km east of Tohoku (38.3 degrees North latitude and 142.4 degrees East longitude), or 130 km east of Sendai as shown by the X in figure 3 below. The focus of the earthquake was 24.4 km under the epicentre. The earthquake therefore caused a tsunami due to the displacing of water above the Pacific Plate. The earthquake and tsunami together have caused approximately 20,000 deaths, 6152 injuries and 2500 people missing. Approximately 90% of these deaths were by drowning. Approximately 140,000 people have been displaced and over 500,000 buildings and structures have been destroyed or damaged. The early warning system of Japan stopped many bullet trains, and many residents received texted warnings of the earthquake and tsunami on their mobile phones giving them time to evacuate. Figures 1 and 2 show exactly how destructive the tsunami caused by the Tohoku Earthquake was.
...re situations, from a razed city to devastated citizens. The calamity caused the city to crumble and the government to pay extreme amounts of money. In addition, residents of San Francisco and other surrounding areas suffered the consequences. Thousands died, but even more faced the encumbrance of homelessness. The earthquake caused fires that went on for as long as three days. Nevertheless, San Francisco transformed its ashes into a beautiful city full of fascinating buildings in a matter of weeks. 1906, a year of a significant natural disaster, also became a year that spawned knowledge in the field of seismology. No one will ever forget the appalling chain of events that occurred during the early twentieth century. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 has not only educated scientists, but it has also made San Francisco the jewel of the West Coast that it is today.
In the early twentieth century, San Francisco, a bustling city full of people from diverse cultures, stood in the midst of the Second Industrial Revolution. At this time, the brilliant inventions of airplanes, automobiles, and radios were changing the everyday lives of many. San Francisco had just recovered from the four-year burden of the bubonic plague (“Bubonic”). However, right when things were going back to normal, a destructive earthquake hit the city on April 18, 1906. Although the shaking lasted for less than a minute, the devastated city had crumbled buildings and a substantial loss of lives. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 consisted not only of earthquakes, but also of even more destructive fires; it had a scarring effect on the city and its people, yet it gave much of the knowledge that seismologists have today and allowed San Francisco to stand as a place of intriguing buildings and structures.
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
Gammon, Crystal. "Massive Sea-floor Shove Triggered Japan's Tsunami." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 02 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
In March of 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest most powerful earthquakes to hit Honshu, Japan. (“Facts about Japan”) The earthquake registered 8.9 and was the fifth largest most powerful earthquake in the world.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Tohoku earthquake caused by the movement of the Pacific plate slides underneath the Eurasia plate at the rate of three inches per year, associated with Japan Trench
Imagine more than half of the population of Kenosha being over-taken by a deluge of water without warning or the ability to escape. On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, occurred in the Indian Ocean off of the Samaritan coast, triggering the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. Before the tsunami, this region of the world was one of the most sought after vacation spots. After the record-breaking destruction, the pristine beach front and inviting residents were forever changed. The regional damage was so massive that it demanded a response on a global scale for rescue, recovery, stability, and to rebuild this treasured place.
The Pacific plate is moving northwest in relation to the North American plate, and it is believed that the total displacement along the fault since its formation more than 30 million years ago has been about 350 mi. Movement along the fault causes earthquakes; several thousand occur annually
It was a beautiful day like any other with the clear blue sky and the
The death toll climbs to over 10,000 and is still rising (Branigan 2). The disaster in Japan began without warning on Friday March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in the country (Fackler 3). A massive thirty-three foot high tsunami, generated by the earthquake, swept over lands in northern Japan, taking objects and debris with it. To make matters worse, the tsunami caused the cooling systems at several nuclear power plants to fail. The disaster in Japan was a tragic event, and it had a plethora of causes and effects.