Japan (HIC)

• Date and location

  • 11th March 2011
  • 9.0 Richter Scale
  • Focus was 25km below the Pacific Ocean, 100km off the coast of Japan
  • Destructive plate boundary as Pacific Plate subducted beneath Eurasian Plate.
• Secondary effects


  • Fukushima nuclear power plant leak (level 7 disaster)
  • Bodies washed ashore several weeks after
  • 250,000 people in shelters 2 weeks after
  • People evacuated from Fukushima within an 18 mile radius
• Response


  • Aid given
  • Nuclear power plant shut down (no main power, no cooling, cores overheated and explosions from built up pressure)
• Response


  • Aid given
  • Nuclear power plant shut down (no main power, no cooling, cores overheated and explosions from built up pressure)
  • Various charities provided assistance e.g. US Navy and Red Cross
• Management


  • 30ft sea wall across 40% of the coastline
  • Early warning system
  • Evacuation routes
  • Sirens
  • Good education
• Primary effects


  • Approximately 20,000 deaths
  • 200,000 buildings destroyed
  • Displacement of sea bed by 165ft
  • $360 billion loss
• Recovery


  • 2012: Japanese economy returned to its previous status
  • 2015: all debris cleared away