1. 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and TsunamiMarch 11, 2011 Megan McCullough President – University of Notre Dame Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI@UND)
2. Date: March 11, 2011 Time: 5:46 UTC; 2:46 PM Japanese local time; 4:46 AM Eastern time Magnitude: 9.0 Location: 130 kilometers (81 miles) off the coast of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku near Sendai 373 kilometers (232 miles) from Tokyo Depth: 32 kilometers (19.9 miles) Aftershocks: At least 517 (36above magnitude 6) Largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history One of five largest in the world in recorded history Earthquake Quick Facts
3. Located where the oceanic Pacific plate subducts beneath the continental Eurasian plate The subduction process, together with the friction created ‘drags’ the plates downwards, causing a deep-sea trench to be formed The Japan Trench subduction zone is relatively volatile, experiencing 9 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973 Japan Trench
4. Japan is the nation with the most recorded tsunamis in the world 195 over a 1,313 year period, averaging one event every 6.73 years 10-meter (33-foot) high tsunami wave observed in Miyagi Alaska Emergency Management reported a 1.55-meter (5.1-foot) wave at Shemya 2-meter (6.6-foot) high tsunami in Chile (17,000 km away) Up to 2.4-meter (8-foot) tsunami surges in California and Oregon Largest tsunami in Japanese history occurred June 15, 1896 M8.5 earthquake off the coast of Sanriku, Japan 25-meter (80-foot) waves killed 27,000 people and destroyed 170 miles of coastline Tsunami Quick Facts Tsunami ocean energy distribution forecast map from NOAA
9. Casualties: 5,321 dead, 2,383 injured, and 9,329 missing Ships, cars, homes carried away by tsunami waves along the cost Earthquake/Tsunami Impacts
10. Widespread fires due to broken gas lines Large fire at the Cosmo Oil Refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba Province State of emergency following the failure of the cooling system at one nuclear plant Japanese government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant’s system was unable to cool the reactor Earthquake/Tsunami Impacts
11. Earthquake/Tsunami Impacts Most of Tokyo left without power in the hours after the quake Parts of port areas flooded Shinkansen train services suspended Narita and Haneda Airports suspended operations Earthquake bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 1,093-foot steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower
