The 2004 and 2011 Tsunamis - Essay Example

Such occurrences, lead to a series of irregular movements that generates shock waves at the waves’ focus and this results in an earthquake. The magnitude and size of the resultant earthquake depends on the magnitude of the movement, and the depth at which the quake has occurred. The earthquakes that are intense but occur at relatively shallow points of water mass do result into severe earthquakes. Tsunami can only occur if the intensity of the quake developed exceeds earthquake magnitude of 6.

5 on the Richter scale with a focus less than fifty kilometers in depth; otherwise, the entire effect is absorbed and no tsunami occurs. However, the main factor for consideration is the displacement of the intensity or the degree of placement of the sea floor. If an earthquake occurs on a large but shallow water mass, an intensive tsunami is realized. It is worth noting that the phenomena that lead to the 2004 and 2011 are extremely rare circumstances. The effects of quake waves are intense and usually lead to severe effects to both humanity and the earth itself.

Notably, the 2004 and 2011 earthquakes that lead to tectonic plates and oceanic floor movement by about fifteen meters permanently altered the surrounding islands geography. Additionally, such quakes led to wobbling of the earth’s axis thus altering or shortening the length of days by fractions of seconds. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was later identified as an undersea mega-thrust earthquake. The earthquake that led to the 2004 tsunami is believed to have resulted from the subduction movement of the tectonic plates.

This movement triggered a series of devastating tsunamis on the surrounding landmasses bordering Indian Ocean. The resulting waves stretched to numerous neighboring towns and cities killing over 230,000 people. The effects of this quake were felt in fourteen countries. The wave developed were thirty meters high with magnitude of Mw 9.1 – 9.3. This magnitude is the third largest that had ever recorded on a seismograph. The earthquakes’ effects lasted for the longest duration that had ever been observed, approximately 8.

3 and 10 minutes. Notably, this earthquake led to a one centimeter vibration of the entire planet a phenomenon that triggered another earthquake in far regions including Alaska (Moos 1). The 2011 earthquake had a magnitude of MW 9.0. It was less than the 2004 tsunami in magnitude. It occurred undersea, and it was as well regarded as a mega-thrust earthquake. The 2011 earthquake triggered waves off the coast of Japan and had its epicenter approximately seventy kilometers east of Oshika Peninsula and its hypocenter at underwater depth that was later approximated to be about 32 kilometers (Rajamanickam 78).

It was the most powerful wave to have ever hit Japan and the 5th most powerful earthquake on the global listing. The 2011 earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami with waves hitting the heights of up to 40.5 meters and travelled a distance of up to ten kilometers inland. This earthquake moved the Honshu about 2.4 meters towards the east; thus, shifting the Earth’s axis by approximately a distance of between ten to twenty five meters (Nanto 5). The Japan tsunami led to numerous, devastating effects to objects and human life.

It led to a number of nuclear accidents; notably, the level 7 meltdowns of at least three reactors in