Japan Earthquake

On Friday March 11, 2011, an undersea megathrust earthquake occurred near the coast of Japan. A megathurst earthquake occurs at subduction zones at tectonic plate boundaries, where one plate goes under the other. All of the strongest earthquakes in recent history have been the result of megathrust earthquakes and Japan's earthquake would not stray far from this trend. This earthquake would prove to be one of the most powerful recorded since 1900, with a recorded magnitude of 9.0. The originating point of this earthquake was 20 miles under the ocean's surface and 43 miles east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku. With the powerful force of this earthquake, there was a massive amount of destruction throughout various areas of Japan. As destructive as the actual earthquake, the resulting tsunamis can be argued to be even more destructive. They were the cause of a vast amount of damage throughout Japan and their effects were felt across the world.

The 2011 earthquake would prove to be the most costly natural disaster ever recorded. Within as short of a period of time as 30 minutes after the March 11 quake, mountains of water were thrust upon unassuming Japanese villages and towns. It was not an uncommon occurrence to witness these areas being entirely submersed in water. These tsunami waves varied in size, but the minimum height for a tsunami is 3 meters or about 10 feet. Tsunamis in coastal cities such as Shizugawa witnessed waves that were nearly 40 feet in height. In the port of Ofunato area, tsunamis were recorded be a towering 24 meters or 79 feet. These massive waves affect coastal areas most heavily, but are known to bring their destructive force several miles inland as well. Whether by tsunami or earthquake, officials in Japan reported that approximately 190,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged across Japan. More than 45,000 of these buildings were reported to be completely destroyed. Between these powerful tsunamis and the destruction caused by the initial earthquake and the following aftershocks, more than $300 billion in damage occurred.

Tsunami warnings were experienced by countries all over the pacific. Tsunami waves made their way through the Hawaiian Islands, not dissipating until reaching Alaska, California, Washington and Oregon. Parts of the British Columbia, Canada were also affected. Non-North American countries, such as the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, New Zealand, American Samoa and Guam also felt slight effects of the tsunami waves. In the cases of these various areas affected by the Japanese tsunamis, it wasn't until many hours later that the tsunami was able to travel to their shores. For example, a whopping 20 hours after the original Japanese Tsunamis, the Galapagos Islands were hit with 10 feet waves. While these tsunami waves obviously did not have nearly as much power as those experienced by the people of Japan, they did result in three deaths.

Unfortunately, Japan's earthquake did not only produce property destruction, but there were also a great deal of causalities that resulted from the disaster as well. More than 15,000 deaths have been confirmed as a result of the earthquake and tsunamis. The main cause of death was drowning, which was the result of the massive amounts of waters consuming inhabited areas that were unable to be evacuated in time.

The amount of people displaced by the Japan earthquake was also staggering. It has been reported that nearly 100,000 children alone were forced out of their homes. This is only topped by the fact that it was estimated that the total number of residents displaced was more than a half of a million.