The 2011 Tohoku earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan with a magnitude of 9.0, making it the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan. The epicenter was 70 km east of Oshika Peninsula. Over 15,000 people were killed, mostly by the resulting tsunami, and over 100,000 buildings were destroyed. The earthquake occurred due to the convergence of the Pacific and Philippine Sea tectonic plates, shifting portions of Japan closer to North America and triggering a large tsunami. Significant damage was caused across northern Japan.

1. JAPAN EARTHQUAKR
By Gaurav Baviskar

2. Earthquake Map

3. Introduction
It occurred in 2011 off the pacific coast
of tohoku.
With a Magnitude of 9.0 (Mw) undersea
megathrust earthquake off the coast of
Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on
Friday 11 March 2011
The epicentre approximately 70
kilometers (43 mi) east of the Oshika
Peninsula of Tohoku and the
hypocenter at an underwater depth of
approximately 30 km (19 mi)

4. It was the most powerful known
earthquake ever to have hit Japan,
and the fifth most powerful
earthquake in the world since
modern record-keeping began in
1900.
A Japanese National Police Agency
report confirmed 15,883 deaths,
6,150 injured, and 2,643 people
missing.
As well as 129,225 buildings totally
collapsed, with a further 254,204

6. Geology
This earthquake occurred where the
Pacific Plate is subducting under the plate
beneath northern Honshu.
The pacific plate dips under Honshu's
underlying plate building large amounts of
elastic energy.
This motion pushes the upper plate down
until the accumulated stress causes a
seismic slip-rupture event.

7. It was the convergence of these two
plates over many hundreds of years
that set the stage for the sudden
magnitude 9 earthquake of March 11,
2011

8. Because the plate boundary and subduction zone
in the area of the Honshu rupture is not very
straight, it is unusual for the magnitude of its
earthquake to exceed 8.5.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency said that
the earthquake may have ruptured the fault zone
from Iwate to Ibaraki with a length of 500 km (310
mi) and a width of 200 km (120 mi).
This earthquake released a surface energy (Me)
of 1.9 ± 0.5×1017 joules, dissipated as shaking
and tsunamic energy, which is nearly double that
of the 9.1-magnitude 2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake and tsunami!!

9. Seismic intensity map

10. Geophysical effects
Portions of northeastern Japan
shifted by as much as 2.4 m (7.9 ft)
closer to North America.
A 400 km stretch of coastline
dropped vertically by 0.6 m (2.0 ft),
allowing the tsunami to travel farther
and faster onto land.
The Earth's axis shifted,this
deviation led to a number of small
planetary changes, including the
length of a day, the tilt of the Earth

11. The speed of the Earth's rotation increased,
shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds due
to the redistribution of Earth's mass.
Soil liquefaction was evident in areas of
reclaimed land around Tokyo, particularly in
Urayasu.
Shinmoedake, a volcano in Kyushu, erupted
three days after the earthquake.
Japan has experienced over 1000 aftershocks
since the earthquake, with 80 registering over
magnitude 6.0 Mw and several of which have
been over magnitude 7.0 Mw.

12. Pictures
1)Results of
earthquake
2) Before and after
Image

13. Casualties
The National Police Agency has
confirmed 15,883 deaths, 6,150
injured,and 2,643 people missing across
twenty prefectures.
Of the 13,135 fatalities recovered by 11
April 2011, 12,143 or 92.5% died by
drowning.
Of the total confirmed victims, 14,308
drowned, 667 were crushed to death or
died from internal injuries, and 145

14. Damage and effects
Japan's National Police Agency said on 3
April 2011, that 45,700 buildings were
destroyed and 144,300 were damaged by
the quake and tsunami.
An estimated 230,000 automobiles and
trucks were damaged or destroyed in the
disaster.
In the immediate aftermath of the calamity,
at least 1.5 million households were
reported to have lost access to water

15. Ship left atop
building in Otsuchi,
Iwate prefecture,
Japan, following
March 11 Tohoku
earthquake and
tsunami
Houses are
destroyed by
tsunami floods
following the Tohoku
Earthquake in near
Iwaki town,

16. Widespread destruction of houses and property in the
aftermath of the Great Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

17. Refrence
Wikipedia
Google