It shows the predicted wave heights of the tsunami as it travels across the Pacific basin. The largest wave heights are near the earthquake epicenter, off Japan. The wave decreases in height as it travels across the deep Pacific but grows taller as it encounters shallow waters near coastal areas. In general, the energy of the wave decreases with distance, causing the maximum height of the waves at the coasts to decrease.
This explains why coastal Hawaii does not see the heights that were encountered in coastal Japan. Out in the open ocean, areas of low wave height correspond to deeper areas in the ocean. East of Japan, the Pacific plate dives beneath the overriding Eurasian plate. The temblor completely released centuries of built up stress between the two tectonic plates, a recent study found.
The March 11 earthquake started on a Friday at p. It was centered on the seafloor 45 miles 72 kilometers east of Tohoku, at a depth of 15 miles 24 km below the surface. The shaking lasted about six minutes. Scientists drilled into the subduction zone soon after the earthquake and discovered a thin, slippery clay layer lining the fault. The researchers think that this clay layer allowed the two plates to slide an incredible distance, some feet 50 meters , facilitating the enormous earthquake and tsunami.
Residents of Tokyo received a minute of warning before the strong shaking hit the city, thanks to Japan's earthquake early warning system. The country's stringent seismic building codes and early warning system prevented many deaths from the earthquake, by stopping high-speed trains and factory assembly lines.
People in Japan also received texted alerts of the earthquake and tsunami warnings on their cellphones. The number of confirmed deaths is 15, as of June 10, , according to the reconstruction agency. More than 2, people are still reported missing.
Less than an hour after the earthquake, the first of many tsunami waves hit Japan's coastline. The tsunami waves reached run-up heights how far the wave surges inland above sea level of up to feet 39 meters at Miyako city and traveled inland as far as 6 miles 10 km in Sendai. The tsunami flooded an estimated area of approximately square miles square kilometers in Japan. In March , a magnitude 9. Acquired in March and February , these images document the recession of flood waters after the Tohoku tsunami.
The earthquake was one of the most powerful of the last 35 years and had a magnitude of 8. After the initial quake, coastal residents witnessed a sudden draw-down of the ocean and knew a tsunami was imminent. They had less than 20 minutes to reach higher ground before the tsunami hit.
Waves as high as 8 meters came in four destructive surges reaching as far as 1. Thousands of buildings were destroyed, and the combined earthquake and tsunami killed as many as people. Image of the Day Land. Acquired March 18, , this natural-color image shows agricultural fields near Sendai, Japan, covered with either snow or flood water. Image of the Day Land Life Water. Geological Survey. This region has a high rate of seismic activity, with the potential to generate tsunamis. Past earthquakes that generated tsunamis in the region have included the deadly events of , , and The March 11, , earthquake generated a tsunami with a maximum wave height of almost 40 meters feet in the Iwate Prefecture.
Following the earthquake, a tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a significant nuclear accident.
All three nuclear cores largely melted in the first three days. As of December , the Japan National Police Agency reported 15, deaths, 2, missing and presumed deaths, and 6, injuries for the Great East Japan event. In Japan, the event resulted in the total destruction of more than , houses and damage to almost a million more. Ninety-eight percent of the damage was attributed to the tsunami. The damage makes the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami the most expensive natural disaster in history.
The tsunami was observed at coastal sea level gauges in over 25 Pacific Rim countries, in Antarctica, and on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil.
0コメント