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fukushima disaster
essay on japan earthquake history
fukushima disaster
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Japan – Fukushima
Introduction
On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM, Japanese time, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hits, but was later upgraded to a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, happens 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, Japan, at a depth of 15.2 miles. The pacific tsunami-warning centre sends out a warning to Japan all the way to The United States of America. Around an hour later after the earthquake the waves hits. The waves got up to 30ft high when they hit the Japanese coast. The waves caused widespread devastation washing away cars like they were sticks, collapsing buildings and destroying roads and highways.
Causes
This Tsunami costed the Japanese government 25 trillion yen ($300 billion) dollars. The earthquake happened because of the thrust faulting on or around the subduction zone interface plate boundary between the pacific and North American plates. According to scientists who has look at this disaster Japan has shifted 8 feet (2.4 meters) East towards North America. The earthquake has also caused the earth to move between 4 and 6.5 (10–16cm) inches on its axis. This earthquake caused the tsunami because when the earthquake happened it suddenly shifted the sea floor in vertical motion, which moved the water Colum above it. This process started a series of giant waves called a tsunami.
Impacts
For the Japanese government this was the worst thing that could happen to them in the way that they lost a lot of citizens but also financially. This effected not only the Japanese government with damage costs but also the manufacturing business, exporting business and the insurance business. The Insurance companies claims ran into the billions. The manufacturing business was suspended along with car exports.
March 12, 2011, on th...
... middle of paper ...
...Hawaii and runs 24/7. If this technology were working when this tsunami happened some countries would of been too close and it the technology would not have enough time to work and send out a warning signal.
Bibliography
Japan – Fukushima
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/17/world/asia/japan-earthquake---tsunami-fast-facts/
http://www.geography.org.uk/resources/japantsunami/
http://www.livescience.com/13187-japan-earthquake-tsunami-science-faq.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9920042/Tsunami-two-years-on-Japan-finally-gets-warning-system-that-would-have-saved-hundreds-of-lives.html
Thailand – Phuket
http://www.travelphuket.com/2004-boxing-day-tsunami.html
http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Our-Science/Natural-Hazards/Tsunami/2004-Boxing-Day-Tsunami#what
http://www.slideshare.net/PLANETGE0GRAPHY/indian-ocean-tsunami-case-study
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.
Out of all the natural disasters that we talk about in class, the most deadly would have to be a Tsunami. Compared to earthquakes, Tsunamis have cause more deaths since 1945. A Tsunami is likely to strike anywhere on the west coast, including Santa Cruz in California – United States – North America – 36:58:24N 122:02:09W. A Tsunami is a giant “wave” of water that is caused by a sudden shift in the sea floor. The wave is a result of the water attempting to regain its equilibrium, which is driven by gravity. The size of the wave is determined by how much the sea floor is moved vertically, and how quickly it shifts. A greater water depth helps as well. They can travel up to five hundred miles an hour and have wave heights of one hundred feet. Earthquakes are the leading cause of Tsunamis. People who live in California are well aware of earthquakes that are frequently caused by the San Andreas Fault. However, not many are aware of the results of earthquakes that occur out in the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis have also been referred to in the past as seismic sea waves, but Earthquakes aren’t the only cause of this phenomenon. Landslides, nuclear explosions, volcanic eruptions, and extra terrestrial impacts also have great water displacement results.
Beginning with Chile, it affected the cities of Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Rio Negro, Temuco, to name a few. It also affected the coast of California, New Zealand, Australia and Kamchatka. This affected the people of Chile plenty. It is believed that most of the loss of life were caused by the tsunami. The earthquake affected by speeding up Earth’s rotation. It shorted earth days by 1.26 millionths of a second. It also shifted Earth’s figure axis by about three inches. While all this happen in 1960, it was a cause of the 2010 earthquake that occur in Chile. This time it was a magnitude of 8.8 and like I mentioned, all this occur from the earthquake in 1960. However, the diving tectonic plate at the epicenter of the 8.8 magnitude, helped to temporarily redistribute mass on Earth. Unfortunately, as every Earthquake, there is damages. $550 million damage in southern Chile. Different sources have estimated the monetary cost ranged from US$400 million to 800 million (or 2.9 to 5.8 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusted for inflation). Furthermore, besides the dollar amount in damages that was mentioned in this paper, the tsunamis played a factor on the
The Great Kanto Earthquake also known as the Tokyo-Yokohama Earthquake of 1923 hit the metropolitan area of Kanto on September 1st, 1923 around 11:58 pm. It was a 7.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, killing over one-hundred and forty thousand people due to its high magnitude and the time it happened. The earthquake struck around lunch time, when many Japanese people were at home cooking at their charcoal or gas fueled stoves. At the moment the earthquake hit, it knocked down buildings that caught flames from the stoves that fell over, enflaming the city. The fire was swept up and able to spread due to the gusts of wind that occurred for two days afterwards, resulting in firestorms. Charles Blauvelt experienced the ordeal of the fire describing the flames as “[covering] the whole city [as they] burned all day and night.” In addition to the firestorms and the earthquake itself, there was a shock because of all the fallen debris which triggered tsunamis to fill and flood Japanese cities. These tsunamis, that were about thirty feet tall, destroyed central Tokyo and immensely added to the death toll.
Earthquakes are common in both California and Japan and sometimes these areas are hit by large magnitude earthquakes that cause vast destruction. This is the case for both the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (also commonly referred to as the Kobe Earthquake). Although both earthquakes were around a 6.0 magnitude and happened exactly one year apart from each other, they had very different impacts in terms of infrastructure, disruption of economy, health issues, and secondary hazards.
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.
The earthquake and tsunami caused damage to lives and properties that affected the area. The earthquake happened on March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. local time. People in cities along a 1,300 mile coastline were affected by tremors that reached as far as Tokyo. As of April 2015 the
An earthquake occurs abruptly and causes severs damage to people, property, landscape and more. A great mega-thrust earthquake, known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake has shaken Japan at 5:46:24 UTC on March 11, 2011. It caused a severe disaster, including tsunami and nuclear radiation exposure.. This mega-quake located at the latitude 38.297 degree North and longitude of 142.372 degree East, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan (USGS, 2013). An earthquake and tsunami waves caused widespread damage to many areas of Japan. People in Japan are still recovering from the damages.
Living along the coast of Japan meant that they knew all they needed to know about Tsunamis: They were caused by the vertical displacement of water. A mega thrust earthquake like the one that had just happened would displace a massive amount of water. A tsunami could travel across the ocean at the same speed as an airplane. Though it’s tall, the wave’s length is staggering; they can move inland for 16km before receding back into the ocean. But the most dangerous part isn’t the water coming in, but all the debris that it carries with it. They knew full well that they couldn't out run the wave once it made landfall, and if they didn’t find a safe place that they would certainly
Large waves crash against the shore while people run for high ground. But many, just stare in wonder. What actually was going on was a tsunami. A earthquake had just struck in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Soon the waves got larger and larger before they wiped out the whole village. Tsunamis are large waves reaching over 300 ft. that wipe out it ire villages, city's, homes, and stores. Many tsunamis leave the area flooded , destroyed, and filled with sea animals such as whales, dolphins, sharks, and other things. Then, the tsunamipulls back pulling all of the debris it destroyed back into the ocean polluting the whole sea environment. Tsunamis don't just cause short term effects, they cause long term also the Japan tsunami broke a nuclear power plant releasing thousands of gallons of contamination into the Pacific Ocean killing sea life and contaminating nature. (Walker, 29) Many may know about tsunamis but not all know how they are made, and some only assume one way but there are multiple.
At first, tsunami, also known as seismic sea waves, are a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more.
Once the earthquake hit, 15 hours after, it created tsunamis, which swept over coastal areas of Hawaii. It destroyed buildings and facilities along the shoreline. The effects of the tsunami caused by this earthquake caused millions of dollars of damage to Hilo Bay on the main island in Hawaii (Fujii, & Satake, 2013). The force of the earthquake was large enough to force this tidal wave all the way across Hawaii and into the Japanese islands. The main island that was hit with the tsunami was the Japanese island of Honshu, the effect of the wave hit this island almost 22 hours after the original earthquake off of the shores of Chile. On the alternate side of the wave, off of Long Beach, California, boats and ships were greatly damaged however no deaths were recorded in this area. Although it is not confirmed, two days later a volcano by the name of Cordon-Caulle erupted in Los Lagos after 40 years of inactivity (Fujii, & Satake, 2013).. The effects of the earthquake are believed to be what has caused the eruption creating an even larger death
The Sendai earthquake that hit in Japan 2010 had a very big effect on the country. It destroyed 138,000 buildings and cost $360 billion in economic damage. The earthquake hit northeast Japan. This region was responsible for 6-8 percent of the country's total production. There, rebuilding took seven years. Japan's nuclear industry was
Lets start off with the consequences of an earthquake. The consequences depend on a combination of factors like the magnitude, depth, distance from a populated area, the nature of local earth materials, and also the way structures like houses, buildings, roads, railroads, utility lines, and pipelines are built. (Natural Hazards, Second Edition) Earthquake losses, like those of other disasters, tend to cause more financial losses in industrialized countries and more injuries and deaths in undeveloped countries. Earthquakes can also cause secondary disasters like tsunamis, a natural disaster where a series of waves of very great length and period, are usually caused by large earthquakes under or near oceans that are close to the edges of tectonic plates. The waves created by a tsunami can travel long distances and increase their height as they hit shallow water. Tsunamis are able to create great damage and destruction far away from their source. (American Public Health Association, 2005)
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.