March 2011

Mega disaster

Tohoku, Japan

Causes:

• magnitude 9.0 earthquake east of Sendai, under the sea in the north-west Pacific Ocean

• This earthquake took place on a subduction zone between the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates

• Within 45 minutes, a tsunami between 10 and 20 m high struck the eastern coast of Japan

• In some places, the tsunami was 40 m high and travelled up to 20 km inland

Impacts:

• The impacts of the tsunami were very severe:

  • There were 16,000 known deaths, 3,000 missing and 6,000 injured.

  • 130,000 buildings were destroyed and 145,000 damaged.

  • There was massive damage to ports, factories and services in coastal areas – over 26 million tonnes of debris was created.

  • Economic losses were US$300 billion.

  • A major secondary issue arose when a nuclear power station at Fukushima was flooded and failed. There were fears of a nuclear meltdown and severe pollution

Immediate responses:

• The immediate priority was search and rescue, and stabilisation and prevention of nuclear disaster from the failure of the affected nuclear plant at Fukushima

• A huge amount of temporary housing was provided

• The area around Fukushima was evacuated in the long-term because the effects of nuclear pollution on human health are severe for years after being exposed to it

Long-term response:

• In the aftermath, a government report was commissioned to establish principles for recovery

• The report focused on future safety measures (e.g. a higher tsunami wall), greater environmental awareness for future planning (e.g. avoiding flat coastal areas) and long-term support for those who had lost relatives or been otherwise affected