Japanese

Earthquake/Tsunami 2011
by: Lizette Chavez

Statistics
1. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake shook northeastern Japan
unleashing a tsunami.
2. The earthquake struck offshore of Japan, along the subduction zone plate
boundary where two of the earths tectonic plates collide (pacific and North
american plate)
3. The shaking lasted 6 minutes.
4. It started on a friday at 2:46pm
5. More than 18,000 were recorded as deaths, but thousands more died by
drowning.
6. The tsunami flooded an estimated area of 217 square miles ( 561
kilometers)

Before and After...

How much damage occurred?

There is no doubt that this disaster created severe damage for japan. 332,395 buildings,
2,126 roads, 56 bridges and 26 railways destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and
tsunami. The total economic loss in Japan was estimated at 309 billion US dollars.

Earths crust movement

At the latitude of this earthquake, the Pacific tectonic plate moves approximately
westwards towards the North American plate causing an earthquake.

Any warnings?!?
Japan received about a minute before warning which helped saved many lives.
During this minute, they were able to stop the high speed trains and factory
assembly lines.

Two years after the disaster?

Tsunami debris, which are scattered fragments, continues to wash up on North
American beaches two years later. Also, many people, 300,000 approximately,
who were affected by the quake, are still living in temporary housing. About
300 tons of radioactive water continues to leak from the plant everyday into the
pacific, affecting the fish.

Constructors built several of these

temporary housings days after the
disaster.

Interesting facts
1. The temblor also shortened the length of a day by about a microsecond!
2. More than 1,000 aftershocks have hit japan since the earthquake, the
largest a magnitude 7.9
3. The tsunami broke icebergs off the sulzberger ice shell in Antartica.

Video

Work cited page

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/#su
mmary
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1761942/Japan-earthquake-andtsunami-of-2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xKMFzKOIfQ

STAN
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