2011 Japan/Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami.
First of all, I would like to offer my sincere sympathies and condolences to my peeps in Japan. May God Be With You! Nippon ga futatabi jōshō shinakereba naranai!
The 2011 Japan/Sendai earthquake and tsunami was an 8.8 to 9.1-MW megathrust earthquake at 05:46 UTC (14:46 local time) on 11 March 2011. The epicenter was reported to be 130 kilometers (81 mi) off the east coast of the Oshika Peninsula, Tōhoku, with the hypocenter at a depth of 24.4 kilometers (15.2 mi). It was locally measured at the maximum possible 7 on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale in the northern Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, 6 in other prefectures and 5 in Tokyo.
The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations for Japan's Pacific coast and at least 20 countries, including the entire Pacific coast of North America and South America. The earthquake created tsunami waves of up to 10 meters (33 ft) that struck Japan and many other countries. In Japan, the waves are reported to have travelled up to 6 miles inland.
The earthquake caused extensive damage in Japan, including heavy damage to roads and railways as well as fires in many areas, and a dam collapse. Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and more than a million households without water. Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least two nuclear reactors were damaged, which prompted evacuations of the affected areas. One of the nuclear reactors has since experienced an explosion of some kind.
News reports indicate that more than 503 people have died and 784 are missing in six different prefectures. The estimates of its magnitude would make it the largest earthquake to hit Japan and one of the five largest earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began. It is thought to have been the largest earthquake in Japan in the past 1,200 years.
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| Map showing the impact of the earthquake | |
| Date | 14:46:23, 11 March 2011 (UTC+9) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 minutes |
| Magnitude | 8.8–9.1 MW |
| Depth | 24.4 km (15.2 mi) |
| Epicenter location | 38.322°N 142.369°E |
| Type | Megathrust earthquake |
| Countries or regions affected | Japan (primary) United States (tsunami) Philippines (tsunami) |
| Total damage | Flooding and reports of major damage |
| Tsunami | Yes |
| Landslides | Yes |
| Aftershocks | At least 192 (23 above 6.0 MW) |
| Casualties | more than 503 dead, 784 missing |
Earthquake
The main earthquake was preceded by a number of large foreshocks, beginning with a 7.2 MWevent on 9 March approximately 40 kilometers (25 mi) from 11 March quake, and followed by another three on the same day in excess of 6 MW in intensity. One minute prior to the earthquake, Earthquake Early Warning connected to about 1,000 seismometers in Japan sent out warnings on television of an impending earthquake to millions. This is believed to have saved innumerable lives.
The earthquake occurred in the western Pacific Ocean, 130 kilometers (81 mi) east of Sendai,Honshu, Japan. Its epicenter was 373 kilometers (232 mi) from Tokyo, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Multiple aftershocks were reported after the initial M8.9 quake at 14:46 local time. A magnitude 7.0 aftershock was reported at 15:06 local time, M7.4 at 15:15 local time and M7.2 at 15:26 local time. Over one hundred aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater have occurred since the initial quake.
Initially reported as 7.9 by the USGS, the magnitude was quickly restated as 8.8 and then to 8.9, and then again to either 9.0 or 9.1. This earthquake occurred in the Japan Trench, where the Pacific Plate is subducting beneath the North American Plate. A quake of this size usually has a rupture length of at least 480 kilometers (300 mi) and requires a long, relatively straight fault line. Because the plate boundary and subduction zone in this region is not so straight, earthquakes in this region are usually expected to be with magnitudes up to 8 to 8.5, and the magnitude of this earthquake was a surprise to some seismologists. The hypocentral region of this earthquake extends from offshore Iwate to offshore Ibaraki Prefectures. The Japanese Meteorological Agency said that this earthquake may have ruptured the fault zone from Iwate to Ibaraki with a length of 400 kilometers (250 mi) and a width of 200 kilometers (120 mi). It has been pointed out that this earthquake may have the same mechanism as that of another large earthquake in 869, which also caused large tsunami.
The quake registered a maximum 7 on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture. Three other prefectures—Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi—recorded upper 6 on the JMA scale. Seismic stations in Iwate, Gunma, Saitama andChiba Prefecture measured lower 6, recording upper 5 in Tokyo.
A local official at the hardest-hit city of Kurihara in Miyagi Prefecture, in a telephone interview by Agence France-Presse (AFP) said:
We were shaken so strongly for a while that we needed to hold on to something in order not to fall. We couldn't escape the building immediately because the tremors continued... City officials are now outside, collecting information on damage.
A separate earthquake measured magnitude of 6.7 by JMA occurred at 18:59 UTC, 11 March (03:59, 12 March local time). Its hypocenter was in Niigata Prefecture at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 mi). The quake was recorded upper 6 on the JMA intensity scale in Nagano Prefecture and lower 6 in Niigata. It also resulted in numerous aftershocks.
Tsunami
The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations for Japan's Pacific coast and at least 20 countries, including the entire Pacific coast of North and South America from Alaska to Chile. The tsunami warning issued by Japan was the most serious on its warning scale, implying that the wave was expected to be at least 10 meters (33 ft) high. A wave that high was observed at 3:55 pm JST flooding Sendai Airport, which is located near the coast of Miyagi prefecture, with waves sweeping aside cars and flooding various buildings as they traveled inland. The impact of the tsunami in and around Sendai Airport was filmed by an NHK News helicopter, showing a number of vehicles on local roads trying to escape the approaching wave and being engulfed by it. A four-meter-(13 ft) high tsunami hit Iwate Prefecture. A 0.5-meter (20 in)-high wave hit Japan's northern coast. Reports indicate that the wall of water was higher than some Pacific islands and the danger of tsunami flooding prompted warnings for almost the entire Pacific basin.
The United States West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the coastal areas of California and Oregon from Point Conception, California, to the Oregon-Washington border. Waves up to seven feet high were recorded in Maui, Hawaii. The tsunami eventually reached the west coast of the United States at 12:19 pm, Pacific Time, which is more than 5,000 miles away. The tsunami rocked pleasure boats and fishing boats in a harbor in Santa Cruz and Crescent City, California and in Medford, Oregon. One man in Crescent City drowned when he was pulled under the water. It is not the first time Crescent City was hit by far away tsunamis. In 1964, four and a half hours after a 9.2 earthquake rocked Anchorage, Alaska, four separate tsunamis rocked Crescent City over a two hour period, destroying 289 building and killing 12 people. In 2006, after an 8.3 earthquake struck off the Kuril Islands in the west Pacific, a surge from the earthquake damaged three docks, but fortunately, no one died.
Casualties
Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) has confirmed approximately 400 dead and approximately 700 missing in six different prefectures (also reported as over 1100 dead/missing combined). Later confirmed deaths were 503 with: one in Hokkaido, three in Aomori, 221 in Iwate, 129 in Miyagi, one in Yamagata, 115 in Fukushima, four in Tokyo, 13 in Ibaraki, three in Tochigi, one in Gunma, ten in Chiba, three in Kanagawa and a police estimate of 200-300 in an inaccessible coastal part near Sendai City in Miyagi. Reports of missing persons suggested 740 were unaccounted for and that 1,040 were injured.
Officials in Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, which was heavily damaged by tsunami waves, stated that they had found the dead bodies of 200–300 victims.
By 09:30 March 11 UTC, Google Person Finder, which was previously used in the Haitian, Chilean, and Christchurch earthquakes, was collecting information about survivors and their locations. The Next of KinRegistry NOKR is assisting the Japanese government to locate next of kin for those missing or deceased.
It was reported that four passenger trains containing an unknown number of passengers disappeared in a coastal area during the tsunami. Two of the trains were on the Senseki Line. One of the Senseki Line trains was found derailed in the morning, and all passengers were rescued by a prefectural police helicopter.
A 25-year-old man who was taking pictures of the tsunami waves in coastal Del Norte County, California, was swept out to sea and later found dead.
Effect on infrastructure
Port
The effects of the quake included visible smoke rising from a building in the Port of Tokyo with parts of the port areas being flooded, including soil liquefaction in Tokyo Disneyland's car park.
Dam failure
Kyodo News reported a dam in Fukushima Prefecture failed, washing away homes. No casualties have been counted, but the Defense Ministry reported 1,800 homes downstream were destroyed.
Water
More than a million households were reported to have lost water supplies.
Electricity
According to Tohoku Electric, around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity. Several nuclear and conventional power plants went offline after the earthquake.
Nuclear power plants
Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, Fukushima I, Fukushima II and Tōkai nuclear power stations were automatically shut down following the earthquake. Higashidōri, also on the northeast coast, was already shut down for a periodic inspection. The Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant, also on the coast, was being powered by emergency diesel generators.
Separately, a fire broke out at the Onagawa plant. The blaze was in a building housing the turbine, which is sited separately from the plant's reactor.
Fukushima I and II
Japan declared a state of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in the evacuation of nearby residents. Officials from the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency have reported that radiation levels inside the plant are up to 1,000 times normal levels, and that radiation levels outside the plant are up to 8 times allowable limits. Later, a state of emergency was also declared at the nearby Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant, as it suffered a cooling failure as well.
It was reported that The Tokyo Electric Power Company was preparing to vent contaminated steam from the reactor vessel into the atmosphere. According to Tomoko Murakami of the nuclear energy group at Japan's Institute of Energy Economics, this would not result in the release of significant radiation. The cores of both reactors remain hot, however, so cooling is still required. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported that due to lack of electricity, the emergency cooling system is currently running on backup battery power. Residents living within a 10-kilometer (6.2 mi) radius of the Fukushima I plant were evacuated, as well as residents within 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) of the Fukushima II plant.
A large explosion took place at the Fukushima I plant on 12 March at 15:36 local time. Several workers were reported to be injured. Pictures broadcast on Japanese television showed that the outer structure of reactor number 1's containment building had blown off, releasing a large cloud of dust and vapour. The Kyodo and Jiji news services reported that the plant may be experiencing a nuclear meltdown just before the explosion. The blast was described as "huge" and "massive". BBC reporter Nick Ravenscroft was stopped 60 kilometers from the blast site by police.
Oil
An oil refinery of Cosmo Oil Company was set on fire by the quake at Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, to the east of Tokyo. Major fires broke out elsewhere, such as in the city of Kesennuma.
Transport
Japan's transport network suffered as well. Many sections of Tohoku expressway serving northern Japan have been damaged. All railway services were suspended in Tokyo, with an estimated 20,000 people stranded at major stations across the city. In the hours after the earthquake, some train services were resumed.
Shinkansen bullet train services in and out of Tokyo were suspended, though there were no derailments; Narita and Haneda Airport both suspended operations after the quake, with most flights diverted to other airports until further notice. Various train services around Japan were also cancelled, with JR East suspending all services for the rest of the day. Four trains on coastal lines were reported as being out-of-contact with operators; one, a 4-car train on the Senseki Line which had derailed, had its occupants rescued shortly after 8 am the next morning.
Telecommunications
Cell and phone service is suffering major disruption in the area.
According to an unnamed official from Chunghwa Telecom, the earthquake has caused "some damage" to undersea cable APCN 2 near Kita on the eastern coast of Japan but data transmission hasn't been interrupted.
Economic impact
Economic analysts posit that ultimately, the catastrophe will improve Japan's economy, with increased job availability during restoration efforts. David Hensley of JPMorgan Chase, citing the1989 San Francisco earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake, noted that natural disasters "do eventually boost output". Takuji Okubo of Société Générale anticipated that Japan's economy will decline in March but will revive powerfully in the next months. He recalled that in January 1995 after the Kobe earthquake, industrial output dropped 2.6%, but in the next two months, it increased 2.2% and 1%, respectively. Japan's economy then accelerated substantially through the next two years, more than its former rate.
Despite these optimistic long-term predictions, the quake has had significant impacts on business. Toyota has had to temporarily close three factories in the affected region, and Nissanhas had to extinguish fires at two of its factories. The Bank of Japan has set up an emergency task force to ensure liquidity in the aftermath of the disaster.
Financial markets
In the immediate aftermath, Japan’s Nikkei stock market index saw its futures slide 5% in after-market trading. The Bank of Japan vowed to do their utmost to ensure financial market stability.
Other stock markets around the world were also affected; the German DAX lost 1.2% and fell to 6,978 points within minutes. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.8%, while South Korea's Kospi index slumped by 1.3%. By the end of trading on Friday, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index had dropped by 1.8%. Major U.S. stock market indexes rose between 0.5% and 0.7%. Oil prices also dropped as a result of the closure of Japanese refineries despite the ongoing violence in Libya and expected demonstrations in Saudi Arabia. US crude dropped as low as $99.01 from $100.08 by lunchtime, with Brent Crude falling $2.62 to $112.81. In Hong Kong, Financial Secretary John Tsang warned investors to "take extra care" as the earthquake may have a short term impact on the local stock market.
The share prices of the biggest reinsurance companies Munich Re and Swiss Reinsurance Company fell following the earthquake on speculation that they may face losses "somewhere in the $10 billion range" even after certain costs would be absorbed by Japan’s primary insurers and the government.
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