A12 THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021
Waves of the
tsunami hit
residences in
Miyagi
prefecture,
Japan.
As soon as the
alert was
sounded,
residents
moved to
higher ground.
Because the
tsunami was
larger than
expected,
however, some
found
themselves still
affected.
In many places
in the Japanese
islands, waves
were 30 feet or
more high and
struck within an
hour of the
earthquake.
However, in
Miyako – in
Iwate
prefecture – the
water reached
as high as 133
feet.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EARTHQUAKE
By Charles Apple | THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Ten years ago, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake – and the titanic tsunami it
generated – struck Japan. Japan is still struggling with the aftermath.
The earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m.
local time on March 11, 2011.
Within moments, the entire island of
Honshu — the main Japanese island –
shifted eight feet to the east. The Earth
shifted as much as four to 10 inches on
its axis. Enough energy was released to
power Los Angeles for an entire year. It
was the fourth largest earthquake since
modern record-keeping began in 1900.
Homes sank as the ground below them
liquified. More devastating than the
earthquake itself was a tsunami
created by the sudden release of so
much energy. A wall of water spread
out from the epicenter of the quake,
which was off the coast of the island.
Entire towns were swallowed whole.
Even the West Coast of the U.S. saw
waves up to 8 feet high.
Japan had prepared for earthquakes
15,899
332,395
228,863
$360B
a 6.2-mile radius were evacuated. The next
day, a series of nuclear meltdowns began in
three of the plant’s four reactors. The
resulting emergency ranks as the
second-largest nuclear disaster ever.
and tsunamis but the country simply
wasn’t ready for something of this
enormity. The flooding knocked
equipment at the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Plant offline. Residents within
Recovery from the earthquake and its
aftermath has been slow. As of last year,
abour 48,000 evacuees were still waiting for
new permanent housing. The Tokyo Electric
Power Company says it’ll take another 30 or
40 years before its damaged nuclear plants
can be fully decommissioned.
Debris continues to wash up along shores
around the Pacific Ocean. Scientists
monitor the area around Fukushima for
continued radiation of seawater and ocean
life.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
On Feb. 14 of this year, a 7.1-magnitude
earthquake struck the same region. It was
an aftershock of the quake 10 years ago,
geologists said.
Smoke rises from Unit 3 at
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant
10 days after the earthquake.
Major earthquakes by year
World’s largest earthquakes
Earthquakes per year greater
than magnitude 7.0, according
to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The 20 largest earthquakes since 1900 ranked by magnitude, according
to the U.S. Geological Survey. All 20 occurred in a ring around the
Pacific Ocean basin — an area geologists call “the Ring of Fire.”
Magnitude 7-7.9
Magnitude 8+
People
killed
Buildings
destroyed
People
displaced
Damage
done (in
U.S. dollars)
1990
1991
1992
2
8
1993
17
1994
5
16
12
13
1995
1996
9
4
20
1997
1998
1999
3
10
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
7
11
2000
18
14
19
Magnitude
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, the Associated Press, the London Guardian, CNN, WorldVision.org
9.5
May 22, 1960
Bio-Bio, Chile
9.2
March 28, 1964
Southern Alaska
9.1
Dec. 26, 2004
Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia
9.1
March 11, 2011
Near the east coast of Honshu, Japan
9.0
Nov. 4, 1952
Off the east coast of the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia
8.8
Feb. 27, 2010
Offshore Bio-Bio, Chile
8.8
Jan. 31, 1906
Near the coast of Ecuador
8.7
Feb. 4, 1965
Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
8.6
Aug. 15, 1950
Eastern Xizang-India border region
8.6
April 11, 2012
Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia
8.6
March 28, 2005
Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
8.6
March 9, 1957
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
8.6
April 1, 1946
South of Alaska
8.5
Feb. 1, 1938
Banda Sea
8.5
Nov. 11, 1922
Atcama, Chile
8.5
Oct. 13, 1963
Kuril Islands
8.4
Feb. 3, 1923
Near the east coast of Kamchatka peninsula, Russia
8.4
Sept. 12, 2007
Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
8.4
June 23, 2001
Near the coast of southern Peru
8.4
March 2, 1933
Off the east coast of Honshu, Japan
15
6
1