Japan 2011

• The location of the earthquake was in Tohoku, Japan.
• The Tohoku earthquake happened at 14:46 on the 11th of March, 2011.
• There were 6,023 injured, with a further 15,891 dead.
• 340,000 were displaced.
• Total damage costed USD$300 billion.
• It was a 9.1 magnitude earthquake.
• The population of Japan was 127.8 million in 2011, with a population density of 338 per km2.
• GDP per capita of Japan in 2011 was USD$48,760.
• HDI of Japan was 0.899 in 2011.
• Vulnerability factors


  Wooden housing;

  elderly population;

  increasing homelessness population.
• Benefits of living in the location

  Quality in education, transportation, healthcare and food.
• Japan is on a convergent plate boundary, with the pacific plate subducting under the Eurasian plate.
• Hazards generated


  9.1 magnitude earthquake;

  40 metres high tsunami, 10km inland.
• The earthquake lasted 6 minutes.
• aftershocks were at a magnitude of 7.0 to 8.0
• 4.4 million were without power (social short term)
• 300,000 houses were destroyed (social short term)
• 1 million houses were damaged (social short term)
• 2/3 of deaths were over the age of 60, with 1/4 being over 70.
• 90% of the deaths were due to drowning.
• 2000 young people were either orphaned or lost one parent (social short term)
• separation of families, as it was during school time (social short term)
• authorities had to bury bodies in mass graves to reduce the spread of disease
• 4 years after the event 230,000 were still in temporary shelter (social long term)
• 45,700 buildings were destroyed, and 230,000 vehicles were destroyed/damaged (Economic short term)
• 10% of Japans fishing ports were damaged (economic short term)
• immediate shutdown of 11 nuclear reactors (economic short term)
• power cuts for several weeks lasting 3 to 4 hours (economic short term)
• two oil refineries set on fire, with one taking 10 days to put out (economic short term)
• transport infrastructure hit badly, 23 train stations were swept away (economic short term)
• there was 25 million tonnes of debris.
• Damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant (economic long term)
• 561 km2 flooded (environmental short term)
• drowned 110,000 nesting birds in a wildlife refuge (environmental short term)
• the coastline dropped by 60cm
• soils surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant were contaminated (environmental long term)
• the radioactivity continues to seep into the Pacific Ocean (environmental long term)
• Previously there was an increase in debt to stabilise the country, however this increased the lack of access to funds during the earthquake (political short term)
• Political fallout over the Fukushima nuclear accident (political short term)
• rebuilding has taken a decade, and costed USD$238 billion (political long term)