st enviro

• Earthquake


  • Preceded by foreshocks
  • Hundreds of aftershocks
  • Some aftershocks measuring more than magnitude 6 or 7
  • Over 800 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more recorded since the main quake
• Earthquake


  Caused by plate movement, which created further tears and fissures in the ground, and damage across Japan
• Tsunami


  • Triggered by the earthquake
  • Hit about 30 minutes following the earthquake
  • Up to 40 m high in Japan
  • Devastated entire towns
  • Resulted in the loss of thousands of lives
  • Travelled across the Pacific Ocean and were felt in Alaska and Chile (over 11,000 miles away but measured 2 m tsunami waves)
• Tsunami


  • Caused flooding which resulted in huge amounts of damage
  • Pollution carried in the water settled far inland and sources of clean drinking water were affected in some cases for up to a year
• Land subsidence


  • Some coastal areas in Japan experienced land subsidence as the earthquake dropped the beachfronts in some places by more than 50 cm
  • Made the areas much more susceptible to flooding
• The quake moved parts of North America closer to Japan