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An illustrative look at news and events

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Japan’s mega quake Strong shaking

Very strong /
severe shaking
Nuclear plant
SEVENTH-LARGEST QUAKE The March 11 “super earthquake” Oil refinery
is the strongest to hit Japan in at
IN RECORDED HISTORY least 300 years. A 30-foot SOME NUCLEAR
PLANTS AND REFINE-
tsunami engulfed cars and 100km RIES HAVE BEEN SHUT
buildings in northern Japan, 60 miles DOWN DUE TO FIRES.
killing hundreds and forcing Onagawa
Akita
tens of thousands of people Fire at plant
to evacuate their homes.
Pacific Some nuclear power
Ocean plants and oil refineries IN
E
TL Sendai
were damaged. UL EPICENTRE
FA 00:46 EST
130KM FROM SENDAI
Indian Sea Of
Pacific Niigata
Ocean Japan
Ocean
(East Sea) Fukushima
Valdivia Chile May 22, 1960 9.5 Residents near
Alaska United States March 28, 1964 9.2 Sendai JAPAN plant evacuated
Sumatra Indonesia December 26, 2004 9.1
Kamchatka
Arica
Russia
Chile (then Peru)
November 4, 1952
August 13, 1868
9.0
9.0 Kyoto JAP
AN 8.9 magnitude Tokyo
after cooling
system failure
Cascadia Canada / U.S January 26, 1700 9.0 Many aftershocks
Osaka Chiba
Sendai Japan March 11, 2011 8.9 Tokyo
Maule Chile February 27, 2010 8.8
Yokohama Refinery on fire
Esmeraldas Ecuador January 31, 1906 8.8
Sumatra Indonesia November 25, 1833 8.8 Epicentre
The quake
How Seismic Waves
The earth is divided into four layers: • Plates push very tightly together
• Crust and friction is caused 3
Convection Primary waves
• Mantle current
• If friction is high enough, plates 1 Felt as a sudden jolt

quakes
become locked together
• Outer core Secondary waves
• The plates continue to push against each 2 Felt as side to side
• Inner core other, increasing pressure applied to the fault 2
The crust is broken up into Magma 1 shaking
• When the pressure become too high, the

happen
Sources : Graphic News,
News Reports, USGS
RESEARCH: PIERRE-ETIENNE
PARADIS; INFOGRAPHIC BY
JUSTIN STAHLMAN/QMI AGENCY
pieces called tectonic plates. mantle
Currents in the magma mantle
blocks suddenly snap
Hypocentre 3 Surface waves
Travel over the
cause these plates to move in • Built-up energy becomes kinetic and an
earthquake occurs surface of the
different directions.
earth, like ripples in
a pond. Generally
Types of faults cause the worst
A fault is a fracture between two damage because the
blocks of rock. waving motion rocks
the foundations of
• Faults allow the blocks to move
structures.
relative to each other.
• They can be a few millimetres to Normal fault Reverse fault Strike-slip fault
Crust is being pulled apart. Plate is being compressed. Plates sliding against each other.
thousands of kilometres long.