1. Earthquake in MEDC- Japan
Tōhoku Earthquake
Earthquake in MEDC- Japan

2. Facts 30% of the annual earthquakes happen in Japan March 11th 2011
Most powerful earthquake measured in Japan. 8.9 on the Richter scale
5 minutes long with many aftershocks
Closest city was Sendai
It sent a tsunami 10m high towards the mainland
It then triggered a crisis in
the near nuclear stations
Over 10’000 deaths

3. What made it so powerful?
There are 4 tectonic plates:
Eurasian Plate
North American Plate
Pacific Plate
Philippine Sea Plate
Build up of pressure & stress
Earlier earthquake near by may have triggered it

4. The buildings in Japanese cities are designed to ‘sway’ during earthquakes
Liquefaction
The earthquake lasted 5 minutes
Energy released = 600 million times energy from Hiroshima bomb
Shifted the Earths axis 25cm

5. The Tsunami Land below sea shifted sending huge waves towards land
Waves, 1km apart, travelling 200miles/h
Near the coast the waves caught up and formed tsunami
24 minutes after the earthquake. Major one: 3h later
15m high (3 story building)
Japan’s North East coast
It travelled 10km inland

6. What were the consequences?
Triggered a tsunami
Nuclear power plant crisis. Spreading radioactivity into society and towns.
12,431 dead
163,000 abandoned and left their homes for shelter
164,059 homes without electricity
170,000 houses without water
46,027 buildings damaged
Total cost of all reparations was
16-25 trillion yen=290 billion CHF
Infrastructure, roads, homes
and buildings destroyed