Tsunami in Tohoku, Japan JEREMIAH, ARSEN, JORDAN, NICK W.

Geography of Tohoku  Tohoku Is an area of Japan that covers the northeast portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan.  The population of Tohoku is 9,335,636  Its land is covered in mountains, with the Ou Mountains being the biggest.  Its soil is also very good for growing crops.  Great place to fish. Obviously.

Definition of Tsunami.  A Tsunami is generated by a large displacement of water that results in giant waves.  A tsunami is generally created by an Earthquake, an underwater Volcano, or an underwater explosion.

2011 Tsunami in Tohoku On March a magnitude 9.0 Earthquake struck 70 kilometers off the shore of the Tohoku Region in Japan. It is the most powerful Earthquake to ever hit Japan and is referred to as The Great Tohoku Earthquake. The Earthquake moved the Island of Honshu two meters to the east and triggered a massive tsunami.

2011 Tsunami in Tohoku, Continued  The waves of the Tsunami reached heights of 40 meters.  These waves were so big and powerful that waves measured at 2 meters hit the shores of Chile 17,000 km away.  This was devastating to the island killing 15,000 people and injuring 6,000.  The tsunami caused over $34.6 billion in damages to the Tohoku Region.  127,000 buildings were totally collapsed, 272,000 were half collapsed and 747,000 were partially damaged.  The Tsunami not only destroyed the coast of Eastern Japan, but also the ecosystem of the surrounding ocean.  Debris and the destructive force of the tsunami stripped the coastal areas of a significant proportion of marine life.

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2011 Tsunami in Tohoku, Continued.  A large part of the disaster was a nuclear accident called “The Fukishama Accident”  This consisted of three meltdowns along the coast of the region. These three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to cooling failure.  A 10 km radius around each of these reactors had to be evacuated.

Video of Tohoku Tsunami 

Recovery of Tohoku  Since the Tsunami nearly $220 billion have been contributed to the recovery of Tohoku.  There is a bill that has been proposed to get the national government to add 50 billion to the 220 billion beginning in  Only 40 percent of the allocated funds have been spent.  However, many towns do not have the personnel to go through the bureaucratic requirements to obtain the funding.  Efforts are still being made to clean up the radiation from the nuclear meltdowns.

Recover of Tohoku, Continued  200,000 people still remain in public housing as a result of the earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima plant melt disaster.  Of those, 82,985 people live in temporary homes that weren’t built for long term use.  Despite all the efforts to help, Tohoku still faces many years of recovery.

Tsunami Prevention  A common way to prevent Tsunamis is to plant trees called “mangrove” which is a group of trees that lives in the coast intertidal zone.  Mangroves stabilize coastlines by reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves and tides.  The tangle of the roots allow the tree to handle the daily rise and fall of tides.  The roots also slow the movement of water causing sediments to settle and build up in the mud.

Works Cited  Pletcher, Kenneth. "Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Mar Web. 09 Apr  15, 2011 PUBLISHED March. "Japan Tsunami: 20 Unforgettable Pictures." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 15 Mar Web. 09 Apr  Lavin, Talia. "4 Years After Japan's Devastating Tsunami, Life Is Returning To The Sea." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Mar Web. 09 Apr