A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Tohoku, Japan on March 11, 2011. This triggered a massive tsunami with waves as high as 10 meters. Over 15,000 people were killed by the tsunami, mostly by drowning, and thousands more were injured or missing. The earthquake and tsunami also caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, as well as triggering a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. International aid was provided to help with search and rescue efforts and recovery.

1. Case study: Tohoku Earthquake 2010
Where did it happen? Japan is located on the Pacific ring of fire, at the
destructive boundary between the Pacific plate, the Eurasian plate and the
Philippine plate. Tohoku is the region of the northeastern Honshu, the largest
island of Japan.
When did it happen?At 2:46pm on the 11th March 2011 a magnitude 9.0 mega thrust earthquake
struck 72km east of the Oshika peninsula. It had a shallow focus, 32km and released the equivalent of
9,320 gigatons of TNT. The shaking lasted for 6 minutes. The 6-8m of up-thrust of land from the
earthquake triggered a tsunami where the waves were, in places, 8-10m
Primary effects
E
c
o
n
o
m
i
c
S
o
c
i
a
l
E
n
Panic caused by the massive
earthquake.
Fewer than 20 people were killed by
the earthquake.
Liquifaction covered large areas in
mud.
Secondary effects
The cost of recovery cost $235
billion.
The yen fell sharply but recouped
most of its decline several hours
later. Tokyo stocks fell.
Economic loss from the nuclear
meltdown
15,883 deaths, 6,150 injured, 2,651
people missing as a result of the
tsunami. 92.5% of these people died
by drowning.
45,700 buildings were destroyed and
144,300 were damaged by the quake
and tsunami.
1.2 million homes without power
1.4 million homes without water
582 roads cut off
32 bridges destroyed
The earthquake and tsunami created
an estimated 24–25 million tons of
rubble and debris in Japan
An estimated 230,000 automobiles
and trucks were damaged or
destroyed in the disaster
At Fukushima the tsunami disabled
emergency generators required to
cool the reactors triggering a nuclear
meltdown. People were evacuated
from their homes.
Approximately 531,000 nonJapanese residing in Japan departed
the country after the quake and
tsunami, including approximately
25% of foreigners living in Tokyo
The earthquake triggered a tsunami
the had waves as high as 10m

2. v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
a
l
Ground ruptured.
Immediate responses
Three minutes after the quake a tsunami
warning was issued.
Meteorological Agency official appeared
on TV urging those affected by the quake
not to return home because of possible
tsunamis.
Fifty-nine search and rescue experts, four
medics and two sniffer dogs flew out on
a private charter plane with 11 tonnes of
equipment on board.
Strong police presence
91 countries have offered aid, from
blankets and food to search dogs and
military transport.
Many animals would have been
killed by the tsunami.
Long term responses
According to Japan's foreign ministry,
116 countries and 28 international
organizations offered assistance. Japan
specifically requested assistance from
teams from Australia, New Zealand,
South Korea, and the United States.
Jackie Chan donated $3 million.
How was the hazard managed?The p-waves from the earthquake were detected and a warning was
sent to televisions and mobile phones seconds before the earthquake struck. This gave the Japanese
time to execute will practiced earthquake drills, such as taking shelter under tables. A warning for the
tsunami was given 3 minutes after the earthquake giving people approximately 20 minutes the
evacute.
Why did the tsunami had such a damaging effect despite the warnings and sea walls?In places
the land subsided by 1-2 m meaning that the sea walls were not as high as they were thought to be.
This meant the tsunami easily swept over the walls. Also, in some places the waves were so large that

3. they were larger than the walls anyway. People did not necessarily heed the tsunami warning, taking
time to remove belongings, and help elderly people. It could be said that people may not have
anticipated the scale of the tsunami and took longer to evacuate than advised.