Tohoku 2011 Earthquake

How big was the earthquake compared to others?

4th most powerful in history and 1st most powerful in Japan's history

When did the Tohoku earthquake take place?

March 2011

How many died?

Over 15,800 deaths

How many were injured?

Around 6000 people were injured

What age group made up most of the deaths?

Over half the deaths were from people aged 65 or over

How many buildings were completely destroyed and how many were severely damaged?

Over 121,000 buildings were completely destroyed and another 280,000 were severely damaged.

What the vertical displacement and scale of the rupture?

Up to 50 meters in some areas with this displacement resulting in the tsunami and it extended almost 500km along the fault line

What fault did the event occur on?

It occurred along the Japan Trench a subduction zone between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate

What was the nature of the fault?

The earthquake was caused by a sudden release of built up stress along a mega thrust fault (Where one plate is forced under another but has huge size and can release huge amounts of force).

What was the magnitude?

9.0 on the moment magnitude scale

Where was the earthquake's epicentre and what was the depth?

70km east of the Oshika Peninsula at a depth of 18.6 miles (about 30 km) below the floor of the western Pacific Ocean.

What was the total economic cost of the disaster?

235 billion US dollars

How many people were displaced?

Around 470,000

How much energy was released by the displacement of the plate?

480 megatons of energy equal to 32,000 Hiroshima bombs

What happened in Fukushima?

The tsunami caused 3 reactors in Fukushima to overheat and meltdown, releasing radioactive material.

What is expected to be the cost and time of the cleanup and decommissioning of Fukushima Power Plant?

Cleanup and decommissioning is expected to take 30-40 years and cost over 200 billion US dollars

What was the speed and the size of the tsunami?

Waves up to 40m high and speeds up to 700 km/h.

How much area did the tsunami cover?

It inundated 500 square kilometers of land and traveled as far as 10km inland in some areas.

What portion of death was attributed to the tsunami?

Over 90 percent of deaths are estimated to be caused by drowning

How quick were tsunami warnings released?

Within three minutes of the Earthquake giving people time to evacuate

What was the population's preparedness?

Regular drills and public awareness campaigns prepared citizens to be able to respond quickly to disasters

How many people were in emergency shelters?

Emergency housing was provided immediately and at peak held 470,000 people

How many people were evacuated from Fukushima?

150,000 people were evacuated from the 20km area around Fukushima

What happened to evacuated people from Fukushima?

Over 360,000 children and adolescents underwent thyroid examinations in the years following the disaster and over 200,000 individuals were screened in the initial weeks following the disaster for radiation.

How quickly was power restored?

Power was restored to 90% of the area affected within two weeks

Within a month what percentage of major land transportation networks were restored and what was a major infrastructure restorastion?

• Within a month, nearly 90% of major land transportation networks, including key national roads, were restored.

• The Tohoku Expressway, were repaired and reopened within one to two weeks.

How fast was search and rescue personnel launched and what was the scale of people deployed?

Search and Rescue operations were launched immediately and over 100,000 people in the Japanese Self Defense Forces were mobilized

How much foreign aid did Japan receive and what was this relative to Haiti?

1.5 billion US dollars as it was largely self reliant and this was around 9 times less than Haiti did in 2010

How quick was the Earthquake detected?

Japan's Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system detected the earthquake within seconds and issued alerts across the country. This system is credited with saving countless lives by providing seconds to minutes of advance warning.

What did Japan do to protect itself in the future?

Investment in stronger roads, buildings and sea walls and the Nuclear Regulation Authority was set up for stricter safety standards with nuclear power plants.

What was the budget for reconstruction?

300 billion US dollars

What occurred with building codes after the Earthquake?

After the 2011 earthquake, Japan revised its building codes to further improve the seismic resistance of structures with shock absorbers and stricter laws around high rise buildings.