ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011:
The facts and opinion about the catastrophic disaster that nearly destroyed Japan.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that took place on March 11, 2011 not only wreaked
havoc on the island of Japan, but created a deadly Tsunami that devastated the country even
more. Japan has experience many earthquakes and tsunami’s, and were as prepared as any
country can be. But this was one of the strongest earthquakes they have experienced, and with
the tsunami that followed shortly after; the loss of life numbers increased.
On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM, Tokyo time, Japan experienced an 8.9 magnitude
earthquake that continued with more than 400 large aftershocks that were felt throughout the
island of Japan. This earthquake was a cause of the Pacific Plate which thrusts onto the North
American plate. In turn it
affects the Northern region of
Japan because it sits on top of
the west point of the North
American Plate. This area is
known as the Japanese
Trench, and the Pacific plate
moves ¾ inches a year
westward. On that day the Pacific plate sub-ducted in a violent thrust underneath the North
American plate, which created the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. Since the fault is under water, the
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
force of that thrust caused an upheaval of ocean water, which created the large waves that turned
into a tsunami.
Tsunami warnings were issued for Japan, the United States, and even South America.
Once the waves hit the lower levels of water by land the waves of the tsunami increased, and the
height of the waves that hit Japan were
measured at 20ft or more that hit the
coast line of Japan. This caused
flooding, landslides, and destroyed
and/or damaged many coastal towns.
Many homes caught on fire, and it made
it increasingly frustrating for the
Japanese to evacuate and find safer land due to the flat terrain of Japan.
There were reports of land liquefaction in China, Odaiba, Tokyo and Urayasu, the level
of the sea rose in Newfoundland, Canada, and many coastal regions of North and South America
had damage due to the tsunami. Another report was noted that large slabs of ice that broke off in
Antarctica. Due to the earthquake there was extensive damage inflicted on a nuclear plant near
Okuma. The reactors had been damaged and were over heating which caused some radiation to
be released into the air.
The reports that state on who were
affected was the entire east coast of Honshu,
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
Chiba, and Aomori. From the information that I have found is that there were at least 15,870
people killed, 6,114 injured, and still 2,814 people reported missing. There were also 56 bridges
damaged destroyed, along with 26 railways, 2,126 roads that were a result of the earthquake and
tsunami. 129,225 building were completely destroyed, 691,766 were partially damaged, and
254,204 buildings were deemed as “half collapsed”.
Due to there not being any way to predict when an earthquake can occur this can make it
extremely difficult for any country to prepare for these natural disasters. Japan does have a
warning system in place for tsunamis though, which proved to be somewhat effective. The
problem is that the speed of the waves can go over 500 mph, and with the fault line being so
close to the coast of Japan; this does not give the people of Japan nearly enough time to get to
safer land before the waves hit.
The Japanese government is well aware of the risks of where the country is placed and
had made some preparation of these disasters that can take place. Thanks to their strict building
codes, there could have been a much greater loss of life if they had not enforced these due to
predictions of natural disasters that could occur.
My “two-cents” for this disaster is that Japan did do everything they could possibly do to
prepare for these occurrences. They know the risks of where they live and have experienced
multiple earthquakes and tsunamis. That is why they had developed such and extensive
evacuation plan and strict building codes for their people. The only thing is that they had not
prepared themselves for such a huge earthquake. This was the largest one that they had ever
experienced and in turn it caused a great amount of chaos.
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
Along with the nuclear plant that had been built on the island, this caused an even greater
disaster. There is still not a fully understanding of nuclear energy and there was much
foolishness thinking that humans could
control it. The shaking from the
enormous earthquake caused the
reactor to break down and in turn
Japan cause radiation to leak out into
the environment. Due to the constant
movement of the plates that are located
below the ocean floor near Japan’s coastal line, there will be many more earthquakes and
tsunamis that will occur in that location. There is a possibility of even having a larger one than
the one that occurred in 2011, since the movements of the plates are so unpredictable. So
hopefully now nuclear plants will be reconsidered when building in a location that is earthquake
prone.
This disaster event is linked to the Japanese Trench that is located not too far from
Japan’s coastal area. The Pacific and North American plates line up together and provide
constant pressure, which causes the Pacific
plate to slide under the North American
plate. Once there was a large movement
caused by these plates, the ocean surged up
and created a tsunami. The large waves
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
crashed up onto Japan’s shores, along with the western coasts of North America and South
America. This caused flooding and landslides for many parts of those countries. The force of the
large earthquake caused land liquefaction in parts of China, and many reports of aftershocks
were felt in Japan and the surrounding countries.
Was this earthquake as cause of human activity in recent years/decades? No… at least to
my knowledge and from what I could find online. Did humans cause this to be a catastrophe?
Yes, because if they would have done their research before deciding to place a nuclear power
plant in an area that is well known for earthquakes occurring, then people could have possibly
been able to focus more on rebuilding their communities rather than having to sit and wait to see
if the reactor was going to blow up. The decision to build that nuclear reactor is what caused this
to become a catastrophe. The earthquake and tsunami did create a ton of damage, but they had
prepared for these instances. They weren’t prepared for how large this earthquake was, but there
could have been much more loss of life.
The reason why this disaster was so much more worse than if it would have taken place
30-50 years ago is because there was a great amount of population that lived in the affected area.
Along with the already noted problem of the nuclear power plant, this was not one around 30-50
years ago so they would have not had to worry about the problem trying to keep it from
overheating. One other last reasoning why this was so much more worse, was that this was one
of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan since they started documenting these from the 1900’s.
As I have already noted, there were mitigation plans instated for these types of disasters,
just not one for the nuclear power plant. The problem is that there is just no way yet on knowing
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
when an earthquake will occur or how large it will be. They had warning systems to warn the
public of an oncoming tsunami, but with the flat terrain and being hit with such a strong
earthquake this made it extremely hard for the public to evacuate.
The obvious thing that could prevent this great amount of loss of life is that to simply not
allow people to live there. That is simply impossible though, because Japan is so greatly
populated and the earth is just as populated too. Plus, everywhere you go there is some sort of
natural disaster that can happen! Basically the only thing the Japanese people can do is to rebuild
and prepare themselves for another earthquake and tsunami that will happen in the future. They
also need to find a way to do away with nuclear energy since they live in an area that many
earthquakes happen. Hopefully this catastrophe has taught all societies in the world of the
dangers and how few of knowledge we have for nuclear power. There needs to me more studies
on how they can build reactors that are earthquake proof and need to be prepared for the worst.
Were there any “benefits” that came from this natural disaster? My answer would have to
be yes and no. Yes, because now there is so much more awareness of the dangers of nuclear
power and how we need to rethink our ideas on using this uncontrollable power. No, because
there is just no method we are able to control the strength of earthquakes or have any prior notice
before it occurs.
In conclusion, this earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan was a catastrophic event that not
only affected their country but the whole world one way or another. They tried their best to be
prepared for these types of natural disasters but did not prepare for the destruction the earthquake
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
caused on their nuclear power plant. We, as humans, will hopefully learn from this disaster and
try to prepare ourselves for the worst.
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ePortfolio Signature Assignment
Mallory Keovilayphone
Geography 1700-8
November 10, 2012
Kent L. Simons
Works Cited
1. Burgess, Joe. "How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
2. Vervaeck, Armand, and James Daniell. "Japan â 366 Days after the Quake¦ 19000
Lives Lost, 1.2 Million Buildings Damaged, $574 Billion." Earthquake Report.
Earthquake Report, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Nov. 2012. <http://earthquake-report.com>.
3. Wire Staff, CNN The. "Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Timeline." CNN. CNN World, 12
Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2012. <http://articles.cnn.com>.
4. Fackler, Martin. "Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan." The New York
Times-Asia Pacific. The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
5. Pollack, Andrew, and Keith Bradsher. "For Japanese, Aftershocks Are Also Felt From
Within." The New York Times-Asia Pacific. The New York Times, 14 Apr. 2011. Web.
09 Nov. 2012.
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