1. Japan earthquake and tsunami 2011

2. Causes and background info
11th March 2011
Measured 9.0 on Richter Scale
Depth of focus 17 miles deep
Destructive plate margin between Pacific and Eurasian plates along the Japan Trench
Pressure was building up for over 200 yrs
Epicentre of the earthquake was 130 km off shore
Caused an 8 metre thrust along a 180km fault
Created a tsunami wave up to 12 metres high travelling at 800km/h (a secondary hazard)
Warning alerts sent out across Japan via txt / tv and internet (in Tokyo this gave 60 seconds warning before earthquake hit)
Japanese coastline subsided by over 1 metre in places (effectively lowered the tsunami defences)
700 aftershocks

3. Impacts – must be divided into primary and secondary effects
Primary effects of the earthquake
Secondary effects of the earthquake
Ground shook for over 5 minutes but the majority of buildings withstood the earthquake
The ground subsided by 1 metre
Thousands of buildings were damaged due to soil liquefaction
It is thought that the earthquake caused 10% of the deaths (1,500)
The main secondary hazard from the earthquake was the tsunami

4. Impacts – must be divided into primary and secondary effects
Primary effects of the tsunami
Secondary effects of the tsunami
14,000 deaths
150,000 homeless
3,000 missing
6,000 injured
128,000 properties destroyed
78 bridges damaged
60,000 acres of land flooded and contaminated
1 million homes without running water and 6 million without electricity
Shipping industry was severely disrupted
Radiation leaks from the Fukushima power plant lead to 200,000 people being evacuated. Radioactive elements have been detected in water supplies
Japan’s GDP shrank by 3.7% between Jan and March 2011
Japanese companies lost £90 billion from value of shares
All 3 Japanese car companies with factories in the UK had to scale back production due to a lack of components.

5. Immediate Responses
Tsunami warning issued and tsunami defences were engaged
Many people evacuated to higher ground
100,000 soldiers mobilised
Red Cross issued 65,000 blankets and sent over 700 aid workers to Japan
The relief effort was made more difficult by the extensive damage to infrastructure and harsh weather conditions
Money raised around the world e.g. via music album
30 mile exclusion zone set up around Fukushima
UK sent 63 search and rescue workers
Aid was also sent from over 100 other countries and 50 different NGOs (charities). The Japanese Red Cross received £1.5 billion in donations.
Shelter Box sent 1,500 boxes of aid inc tents, sleeping bags and bottled water in 1st month

6. Long term responses
Clearing the 20 million tonnes of debris from the tsunami (estimate to take 3 years)
Tsunami detection and warning systems to be upgraded across the whole of the Pacific
Building a 15m high sea wall in certain areas
By April 2011, the main expressway from Tohoku to Tokyo was reopened (over 300km of the road had been damaged) and Sendai airport reopened
By November 2011, the damaged ports were operating at 68% capacity, 96% of electricity had been restored, 98% of water supplies and 99% of phone lines.
The Japanese Government set up the ‘Reconstruction Design Council’ to develop a long term strategy to ensure a stronger economy and society. The council had a budget of £190 billion over 10 years to attract investment to the Tohoku region.