The 2011 Earthquake in Japan - Essay Example

The Earthquake in Japan This paper seeks to analyze the March 11, earthquake in Japan. The paper explains the factors that were behind the occurrence of the earthquake. The paper presents a detailed explanation of these factors in relation to the location of Japan. The paper further explains the damages and the effects of the earthquake. The history of earthquakes in Japan can be explained with exceptional attention to some of the major earthquakes in Japan. The paper also discusses the special location of Japan that makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. The 2011 Earthquake in Japan. Cause of the Earthquake. In March11, 2011, a destructive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Japan. The epicenter of the quake was near the East coast of Honshu, which was at a depth of 24.4 kilometers. According to Aislinn (2011), the movement along the two main plate boundaries caused the earthquake. Honshu Island is situated at the junction of three continental plates, the Pacific, Philippine, and Eurasian Sea plates. Earthquakes are generated by the tectonic plates that build up the surface of earth through bending, snagging, or breaking of these plates as they move past one another. Alexandra notes that thrust faulting caused the March 2011 earthquake; in thrust faulting, rocks positioned in the lower layer of the earth’s crust get pushed above the overlying layers. These faults occurred on or near the interface plate boundary between the North America and Pacific plates (Alexandra, 2011). This occurred near or along the boundary where the Pacific Plate moves under Japan. The rate of convergence in the Pacific Plate’s border near Japan is much higher than in other zones. The Pacific plate thrusts beneath Japan at the Japan Trench, and plunges to the west underneath Eurasia; these plates are rocky and they creep past each other at a slow rate. The Pacific plate moves at a velocity of 3.2 inches per year westwards towards the North America plate. As the two plates shift past one another, they release seismic pressure and energy which cause earthquakes (Aislinn, 2011). Japan is situated in a place known as the Ring of Fire; this place experiences most active volcanoes. The Pacific Basin, which holds Japan, has oceanic trenches and experiences volcanoes around it. These volcanoes and oceanic trenches contribute to occurrence of earthquakes in Japan. Damages of the Earthquake. Alexandra (2011) notes that earthquakes that occur under the sea floor unleash tsunamis; these tsunamis are more devastating than the earthquake itself. Violent movement of the earth’s crust displaces enormous quantities of water; these waves are known as tsunamis. Massive fires, generated by the earthquake, were blazing out of control leading to death, injuries, and the destruction of property. The quake left hundreds of people injured, dead or missing; it killed over 9,000 people. Tsunami wave destroyed power lines and swept homes, cars, ships, boats, trains, and massive islands of debris out to the ocean. Over four million buildings in Tokyo and its suburbs had no power after the quake. Reports indicated cases of landslides and collapse of buildings in several locations along the 2,100 kilometer stretch of coastline. Muddy water waves flowed over farmland near Sendai carrying buildings. Burst of gas pipes led to burning of houses and destruction of properties. Runways of the Sendai airport became inundated with trucks, buses, cars, and thick mud. Debris blocked the roads, and the communications systems, including the destruction of telephone lines. There was the suspension of train services in Tokyo and northeastern Japan, which serves around ten million people a day. The quake destroyed nuclear facilities located north of Tokyo. The government of Japan estimated the damage of the quake at $309 billion which was much higher compared to damage caused by the Hurricane Katrina in America. Effects of the Earthquake. When earthquakes occur they cause tsunamis, this water moves in the form of waves and travels long distances at high speeds demolishing everything in their path. The magnitude of the quake, the volume of water displaced, and the topography of the ocean/sea floor determines the height and destructiveness of tsunamis. After the quake, strong waves hit Japan’s Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures damaging numerous coastal communities. Sequence of large foreshocks preceded the quake (Alexandra, 2011). According to USGS (2011), tsunami moving across the Pacific Ocean at 800 Km/h hit U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, but there was no serious damage in these regions. This led to tsunami warning alerts in Canada, Alaska, South America, and the entire U.S West Coast, and other regions around the Pacific Basin. The earthquake led to evacuation of people in affected areas especially near nuclear power plants and coastlines. The pressure inside the boiling water reactor, in the nuclear power plants, exceeded the normal levels after the failure of the cooling systems; this led to evacuation of communities living near the plants. Officials working in the nuclear power plants said there was the need to release some radioactive steam deliberately, to relieve pressure claiming that the action will have no health risks (USGS, 2011). According to UN’s nuclear agency, four nuclear power plants were safely shut down. The destruction of buildings and homes left thousands of families homeless. The streets jammed with buses, trucks and cars as people were trying to get around and out of the city. The transport facilities such as roads, railway lines, airports, and sea ports adversely affected the movement of commodities and people to and from the affected area (USGS, 2011). The quake adversely affected the economy of Japan due to decline in economic activities as a result of damage of corporate facilities and disruptions of production and supply of goods and services. History of Earthquakes in Japan. Tokyo is situated on the intersection of four tectonic plates; the Pacific, Eurasian, Philippine, and the North American (USGS, 2011). Breaking or bending of any of the plate can cause an earthquake. At least every five minutes a tremor occurs in Japan, and annually there are over 2,000 quakes that may be felt by people. The following is a history of earthquakes in Japan including the Great Kanto earthquake of 1st September 1923. The Great Kanto earthquake had the magnitude of 7.9, and it killed almost 143,000 people in the Tokyo. The earthquake and subsequent firestorms extremely destroyed the Tokyo-Yokohama. The firestorms burned approximately 381,000 of over 694,000 houses that were totally or partially destroyed. The quake created a tsunami in Sagami Bay with heights of 12 meters on Oshima and 6 meters on the Boso Peninsulas and Izu. On 2nd March 1993, a quake of magnitude 8.1 hit northeast Pacific coast in Japan. The quake hit 180 miles off the coast of Honshu, and the massive tsunami caused damages and casualties. Other weighty earthquakes struck Japan in the following regions after 1933 onwards; Fukui, Kobe, Niigata, Noto Peninsula, and Tokyo among other regions. These quakes had the magnitude of over 6.5 and had serious devastations, injuries, and fatalities in these regions (Marcia, 2011). The Special Location in Japan. Marcia (2011) notes that, Japan is situated along the Ring of Fire; this location is home to some of the world’s most deadly and active volcanoes. The eastern shore of Japan is situated in the west of the Japan Trench. The submerging of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate led to the creation of the subduction zone resulting to Japan Trench. The southern half of Japan is part of the Eurasian plate, and the northern half is part of the North American plate. The main plate boundary cuts the Island of Japan in half, where the Eurasian and North American plates meet. Philippine plate is to the south of Japan. The epicenter of the March 11, 2011 quake was slightly to the west of the trench in Japan, meaning that the quake originated under the North American plate, whereby the Pacific plate was on its way to the mantle pushing the North American plate. Many earthquakes occur in this subduction zone and also this zone leads to volcanism in Japan. From the year 1973, Japan Trench has experienced nine earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater. Before the March 11, 2011 earthquake, the largest earthquake instigating from the Japan Trench had the magnitude of 7.8 (Marcia, 2011). References Aislinn, L. (2011). Japan Earthquake: What Causes Them? The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8375788/Japan-earthquake-what-causes-them.html Alexandra, M.N. (2011). What Caused the March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake? Retrieved from http://alexandra-matiella-novak.suite101.com/what-caused-the-march-11-2011-japan-earthquake-a357820 Marcia, A.L. (2011). The 2011 Japan Disasters, Essential Events. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing. United States Geographical Survey (USGS). (2011). Magnitude 9.0-Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, 2011 March 11 05:46:24 UTC, Earthquake Summary. Retrieved from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/#summary Read More