In this essay, I am going to talk about the tsunami that happened in Japan in 2011. This work will provide information about where the disaster occurred, why and what consequences it had. Finally, it will be discussed what conclusions were drawn and how we can now reduce the impact of these types of events.
Where Did It Occur?
A very destructive earthquake occurred 500 kilometers away from the north-eastern shore of Japan. Sendai, Honshu was 130 kilometers from the epicenter. The earthquake was so powerful that tsunami waves moved across and caused damage in Hawaii, California and many other places.
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How Did It Happen?
On earth we have a crust and these are divided in different parts like a puzzle. These parts are called tectonic plates and they move at a slow pace and crash into each other (Earthquake.usgs.gov, 2019). These plates move slowly and when one moves abruptly the earthquake is created. Earthquakes normally occur where two plates meet and rarely occur in the middle of a tectonic plate. When an underwater earthquake occurs, a tsunami is generated. When one of the tectonic plates is forced down, the movement cases a rise or drop on the sea bed. When this occurs, the water on the moving plate rises or drops, it causes a wall to rise around the nearby water which is the tsunami. The bigger the earthquake, the bigger the tsunami is (Sciencing, 2019).
What Were Its Impact?
Because of the disaster Japan was in need of lots of assistance to rebuild their country. Japan’s Police declared that 12, 431 people had died and 15,153 were missing. Over 164 thousand houses were without power and over 170 thousand houses didn’t have water. A minimum of 46 thousand structures were demolished. The Japanese government at first predicted that the cost would be around ¥20 trillion but after an additional ¥3 trillion was required (Telegraph.co.uk, 2019).
Japan’s seafood industry was nearly fell because only 7 ½% of fishing boats were usable. Over 23 000 hectares of cultivated land which was mainly rice fields, were harmed from the salt in the soil. This will affect Japan’s rice production for decades. More than 4 million chickens perished due to insufficient food stock (En.wikipedia.org, 2019).
What Were the Responses from Different People?
The Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared that the Japanese council had deployed the Japan-Self Defense Force to areas of devastation. The Prime Minister pleaded that the citizens do not act irrationally and be informed on new information. Kan said that many of the nuclear plants had been immediately closed. The council pledged to fix the destruction which would cost around ¥1 trillion.
Japan specifically asked disaster relief teams from Australia, New Zealand and many more countries. Following the event after a week over 100 countries and 30 global companies had provided help. China and France had been evacuating citizens from the worst hit areas. Over 15,000 American army staff consisting of more than 15 ships and over 100 aircrafts had been sent to offer help where ever needed (En.wikipedia.org, 2019).
How Can We Reduce the Impacts of a Similar Type of Event?
Researchers from the UK have created a ‘vibrating barrier’ to lessen the damage of earthquakes. The gadget will be put deep in the ground and disconnected from nearby structures. When the earthquake transpires the gadget will absorb a large amount of the seismic vibrations. The device could significantly reduce the amount of destruction and the death toll as well as reduce the severity of a tsunami (The Conversation, 2019). The vibrating barrier is up of a box consisting of a rigid central mass that stays in position by springs. The springs permit the mass to move to and fro to absorb the trembles made by seismic waves (Crisis-response.com, 2019).
Bibliography
- Sciencing. (2019). How Does an Earthquake Form a Tsunami? [online] Available at: https://sciencing.com/earthquake-form-tsunami-8714524.html [Accessed 18 Apr. 2019].
- Japan Earthquake. (2019). [image] Available at: http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/japan_earthquake.html [Accessed 18 Apr. 2019].
- Telegraph.co.uk. (2019). Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: List of Impacts of Disaster. [online] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8431209/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-list-of-impacts-of-disaster.html [Accessed 18 Apr. 2019].
- EARTH Magazine. (2019). Japan's Megaquake and Killer Tsunami: How Did This Happen?. [online] Available at: https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/japans-megaquake-and-killer-tsunami-how-did-happen [Accessed 18 Apr. 2019].
- Earthquake.usgs.gov. (2019). The Science of Earthquakes. [online] Available at: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php [Accessed 18 Apr. 2019].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_the_2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami [Accessed 30 Mar. 2019].
- The Conversation. (2019). Our New Anti-Earthquake Technology Could Protect Cities from Destruction. [online] Available at: http://theconversation.com/our-new-anti-earthquake-technology-could-protect-cities-from-destruction-44028 [Accessed 31 Mar. 2019].
- Crisis-response.com. (2019). CRJ: Vibrating Barriers to Protect Buildings during Earthquakes. [online] Available at: https://www.crisis-response.com/comment/blogpost.php?post=128 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
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