Tohoku blog

2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and TsunamiMarch 11, 2011
Megan McCullough
President – University of Notre Dame Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI@UND)

Date: March 11, 2011
Time: 5:46 UTC; 2:46 PM Japanese local time; 4:46 AM Eastern time
Magnitude: 9.0
Location: 130 kilometers (81 miles) off the coast of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku near Sendai
373 kilometers (232 miles) from Tokyo
Depth: 32 kilometers (19.9 miles)
Aftershocks: At least 517 (36 above magnitude 6)
Largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history
One of five largest in the world in recorded history
Earthquake Quick Facts

Located where the oceanic Pacific plate subducts beneath the continental Eurasian plate
The subduction process, together with the friction created ‘drags’ the plates downwards, causing a deep-sea trench to be formed
The Japan Trench subduction zone is relatively volatile, experiencing 9 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973
Japan Trench

Japan is the nation with the most recorded tsunamis in the world
195 over a 1,313 year period, averaging one event every 6.73 years
10-meter (33-foot) high tsunami wave observed in Miyagi
Alaska Emergency Management reported a 1.55-meter (5.1-foot) wave at Shemya
2-meter (6.6-foot) high tsunami in Chile (17,000 km away)
Up to 2.4-meter (8-foot) tsunami surges in California and Oregon
Largest tsunami in Japanese history occurred June 15, 1896
M8.5 earthquake off the coast of Sanriku, Japan
25-meter (80-foot) waves killed 27,000 people and destroyed 170 miles of coastline
Tsunami Quick Facts

Japan is the nation with the most recorded tsunamis in the world
195 over a 1,313 year period, averaging one event every 6.73 years
10-meter (33-foot) high tsunami wave observed in Miyagi
Alaska Emergency Management reported a 1.55-meter (5.1-foot) wave at Shemya
2-meter (6.6-foot) high tsunami in Chile (17,000 km away)
Up to 2.4-meter (8-foot) tsunami surges in California and Oregon
Largest tsunami in Japanese history occurred June 15, 1896
M8.5 earthquake off the coast of Sanriku, Japan
25-meter (80-foot) waves killed 27,000 people and destroyed 170 miles of coastline
Tsunami Quick Facts
Tsunami ocean energy distribution forecast map from NOAA

Tsunami
Surging action of the wave and debris impact cause large loads
Large lateral forces due to water velocity
Buoyant forces may uproot a structure
Three general stages:
Generation
Propagation
Inundation

M9.5 May 22, 1960 Valdivia Chile
M9.2 March 28, 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA
M9.1 December 26, 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia
M9.0 March 11, 2011 Tōhoku region, Japan
M9.0 November 4, 1952 Kamchatka Russia
M8.8 February 27, 2010 Maule, Chile
M8.8 January 31, 1906 Ecuador-Colombia
M8.7 February 4, 1965 Rat Islands, Alaska, USA
M8.6 March 28, 2005 Sumatra, Indonesia
M8.6 August 15, 1950 Assam, India – Tibet, China
M8.6 March 9, 1957 Andreanof Islands, Alaska, USA
11 Largest Earthquakes by Magnitude since 1900

Casualties: 5,321 dead, 2,383 injured, and 9,329 missing
Ships, cars, homes carried away by tsunami waves along the cost
Earthquake/Tsunami Impacts

Widespread fires due to broken gas lines
Large fire at the Cosmo Oil Refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba Province
State of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at one nuclear plant
Japanese government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant’s system was unable to cool the reactor

Most of Tokyo left without power in the hours after the quake
Parts of port areas flooded
Shinkansen train services suspended
Narita and Haneda Airports suspended operations
Earthquake bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 1,093-foot steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower

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Tohoku blog

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