- Title
- The Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami of 11th March 2011
- Abstract
- On 11th March 2011, a moment magnitude (Mw) 9.0 earthquake occurred in the Japan Trench off the coast of Tōhoku in north-east Japan (Figure 1.1). Ground shaking was felt as far as western Japan and lasted for almost four minutes (220 seconds), generating tsunami that seriously affected approximately 650 km of the Sanriku, Miyagi, Joban and Kanto coastline along the Pacific Ocean shores of Northern Honshu Island (Figure 1.2). The large, unprecedented tsunami toppled sea defences, inundating more than 500 km2 of land and destroying entire settlements and towns along the coastline. This Mw9.0 earthquake is the largest event that has been recorded in Japan since the beginning of instrumental seismology circa 1900 and contributes 5% of the global cumulative seismic energy released since 1900 (Witze, 2011). An event of such magnitude had not been foreseen for the Japan Trench where the maximum magnitude was not expected to exceed Mw8.4 (see section 2 for details). On the 24th June 2011, the government of Japan (GoJ, 2011) announced the estimated total direct loss to be around ¥16.9 trillion (US$215 billion), making this the World‟s costliest earthquake. Indirect costs related to the nuclear crisis in Fukushima prefecture are expected to push the cost of the earthquake beyond ¥25 trillion (see section 2.4). Japan is exposed to some of the world‟s most extreme natural hazards and is considered to be one of the most prepared countries in terms of earthquake and tsunami defence. An early warning system is in place for both earthquakes and tsunami; sea defences had been erected along the key locations of the coastline; evacuation drills, both for earthquakes and tsunami take place frequently within the local communities and at schools and work places. There are strict building codes in place, the most recent implemented in 1981 and 1997 respectively (see section 4.1). Many lessons have been learnt from large natural hazard events in the recent past, including the Hanshin Awaji (Kobe) earthquake (1995), Niigata Chuetsu earthquake (2004) and Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake (2007).
- Publication Date
- Nov. 20, 2011, 3:26 p.m.
- Category
- Geoscientific Information
- information pertaining to earth sciences. Examples: geophysical features and processes, geology, minerals, sciences dealing with the composition, structure and origin of the earth s rocks, risks of earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, gravity information, soils, permafrost, hydrogeology, erosion
- Regions
- Japan
- Responsible
- andy
- Maintenance Frequency
- There Are No Plans To Update The Data
- Language
- English
- Supplemental Information
- tsunami
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