Sunday, March 13, 2011

Sendai Earthquake-Tsunami 2011

Overview

A magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck about 400 km northeast of Tokyo at image 0546 GMT (1446 Japanese local time), on March 11, 2011. The shallow depth of the earthquake was registered at 24 km deep (USGS, 2011), bringing detrimental impacts. The earthquake was found to be the fifth largest in the world since 1900 and it is the most devastating earthquake to hit Japan since official records were kept in the late 1800s. The magnitude 8.9 quake  triggered about 10 m tall of tsunami waves, coupled with more than 160 aftershocks and many of them registered a magnitude of more than 6.0. Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported a 10 m tsunami wave striking the Sendai port, driving ships, vehicles and other debris inland. Many villages and cities along a 2,100 km stretch of coastline were devastated by violent tremors that reached as far as Tokyo, which is hundred of kilometres from the quake’s epicentre.

Global Impacts

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported tsunami waves with amplitudes (peak and trough of waves) of up to 7.3 m on the coast of Japan. imageEven out in the open ocean, the specialist warning buoys recorded wave amplitudes of 1 m. Thus, waves would have travelled across the Pacific, towards the Philippines, Hawaii and even recorded on the landmasses of North and South America. Tsunami waves began hitting the western coast of United States (US) and communities from southern Oregon to Los Angeles braced themselves for swells and rough sea conditions. The harbour and dock area of Crescent City, California, was entirely damaged but the tsunami impacts on the US were blunted as it struck during the lowest tide point of the day.

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Devastation in Japan

Thousands of residents living in the vicinity of Fukushima nuclear plant have been ordered to evacuate after the earthquake as nuclear officials reported that pressure within a boiling water reactor was running higher than normal after the failure of the cooking system. 11 units of thermal power plants were shut and 22 hydro plants were halted. Japan’s Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plants exploded on March 12, 2011, located about 250 km northeast of Tokyo. Residents in the vicinity were  strongly encouraged to remain indoors and fears of a meltdown were ignited.

imageMore than 10% of Japan’s populace were left without electricity and and rail service in Tokyo was suspended overnight and elevated highways were shut. Thousands of commuters had to spend their nights in shelters with the breakdown  in transport networks and services. Air travel was also disrupted by the quake, leaving 13,000 people imagestranded in the Narita airport  and 10,000 were stuck at the Haneda airport.

As of March 12, 2011(midnight Japanese local time), the official death toll exceeded 687, leaving 784 people missing and 1,128 injured. Between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast of Sendai, the largest city in the proximity of the quake’s epicentre. Since the occurrence of the quake, more than 1 million households do not have water access and they are mainly concentrated in northeast Japan. About 5.57 million households experienced were cut off from power supplies.

Strong wavesimage devastated Japan's Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, damaging dozens of coastal communities. A 10 m tsunami wave struck Sendai, inundating farmlands and sweeping cars across the airport’s runway. Surges of debris-filled water reached far inland, sweeping off ships, cars and houses on its path. The tsunami roared overimage embankments, washing anything in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea. In Iwate Prefecture, most areas of the coastal city of Rikuzentakata were submerged and tsunami waters reached up to the third floor of the city hall. A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture and burned uncontrollably with thick flames whipping into the sky. Fires also remained a problem in residential areas such as Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, which battled 3 large-scale fires. Fires could be attributed to the rupture of gas pipes. About 3,400 buildings were already destroyed. Car manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. all planned to suspend production at Japanese plants on Monday (14th March) due to difficulties of obtaining parts.

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 References

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