The death toll climbs to over 10,000 and is still rising (Branigan 2). The disaster in Japan began without warning on Friday March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in the country (Fackler 3). A massive thirty-three foot high tsunami, generated by the earthquake, swept over lands in northern Japan, taking objects and debris with it. To make matters worse, the tsunami caused the cooling systems at several nuclear power plants to fail. The disaster in Japan was a tragic event, and it had a plethora of causes and effects. There was a multitude of causes of the disaster in Japan. The first cause was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan. Japan is located in “The Ring of Fire,” an area in the Pacific Ocean that has multiple faults and earthquakes (Pedersen 13). Tectonic plates shifted off the North Pacific coast of Japan and created a massive earthquake. The next cause was a thirty-three foot wall of water that swept over cities and farmland in Japan (Branigan 2). Martin Fackler, a journalist, stated, “The quake churned up a devastating tsunami” (Fackler 3). The tsunami reached speeds of 497 miles per hour while approaching Japan (Fackler 3). The third and final reason of the disaster was that the cooling systems at multiple nuclear power plants failed. At Fukushima, a nuclear power plant in Sendai, Japan, the radioactive rods began to overheat due to the absence of water, which cools it. Explosions occurred at three of the reactors, which spewed radiation into the air (“Comparing nuclear power plant crises”). In conclusion, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant issues were the causes of the disaster in Japan, but they also had a myriad of effects. T... ... middle of paper ... ...Public transportation, including subways and trains, was shut down. Roads were destroyed by the quake and impassible, therefore it was almost impossible to travel. Also, cell phone services were unavailable. As one can see, the disaster in Japan had various effects on people. The Japan disaster was devastating, and it had an abundance of causes and effects. The nuclear disaster, the tsunami, and the earthquake were the causes of the disaster in Japan. In addition, the disaster had countless effects on the land and people in Japan. The disaster in Japan was as devastating and tragic as 9/11. Both events took a great number of lives and left their country shocked, but prepared them for anything similar that might happen in the future. Knowing the causes and effects of Japan’s disaster can prepare other people and countries around the world for a comparable disaster.
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
CNN: A special news report-This morning, there was an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale shaked Taiwan at 1:45am on September 21,1999. The epicenter is a mile under the ground in Nantou near Puli. There are many buildings crushed, and even a twelve floor-high rise building suddenly became a two floor- high rise building (the first to the sixth floors dipped into the underground, and the seventh to the twelfth floors went diagonally down and damaged the road.) As of press time the Disaster Management Center said 2,034 people were confirmed dead. Another 6,536 were injured and 2,308 were trapped, while 208 were still listed as missing. The number still increases, Taiwan has many earthquakes, and although most are centered under the sea and cause no damage. Some have brought disaster to the island, but this time is the biggest earthquake in Taiwanese history. Taiwanese call it the 9-21 earthquake because it happened on September 21 1999.
Due to the disaster on the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 involving several earthquakes, tsunami waves, and nuclear reactor meltdowns, caused a devastating impact for governments, corporations and people around the world. This case particularly talks about Nissan, damage caused to the Company by the earthquake and consequently its response to the disaster. Several protective measures were taken up by the Company post the disaster to gain back the momentum of business operations and
The full extent of the economic impact of the Friday’s earthquake and tsunami became clear, with hundreds of factories were closed across Japan, warning blackouts and forecasts of economists that the disaster that would push the country into recession. Bank of Japan is preparing to pump billions of yen into the economy when he announced emergency "Budget earthquake" on Monday to prevent disasters derail the country's fragile economic recovery.
The earthquake struck of the East coast of Japan and was felt as far away as Beijing. Immediate effects of the initial earthquake were landslides, collapsed buildings, flooding and fire. After this first qu...
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.
On March 11th, 2011 an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 hit the east coast of Honshu, Japan. This earthquake was the largest one to ever strike the island and has been the fourth largest in the world in recorded history (Geophysical Research, 2012). The secondary damage that followed the earthquake was a massive tsunami, which also caused a nuclear crisis. This disaster resulted in nearly 20,000 deaths,
Living along the coast of Japan meant that they knew all they needed to know about Tsunamis: They were caused by the vertical displacement of water. A mega thrust earthquake like the one that had just happened would displace a massive amount of water. A tsunami could travel across the ocean at the same speed as an airplane. Though it’s tall, the wave’s length is staggering; they can move inland for 16km before receding back into the ocean. But the most dangerous part isn’t the water coming in, but all the debris that it carries with it. They knew full well that they couldn't out run the wave once it made landfall, and if they didn’t find a safe place that they would certainly
The 15 metre tsunami inundated about 560 sq km and resulted in a human death toll of about 19,000 and much damage to coastal ports and towns, with over a million buildings destroyed or partly collapsed. !2 out of 13 back up generators were disabled whenever the tsunami reached the nuclear plant. There were no fatalities due to radiation at the spot but only deaths caused by the natural disasters. The company TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) would have sent in a hardened emergency response but it would have been in vain since radiation was already being spilled out and the condition around the area was not the best to repair the damages and contain the radiation from contaminating the water supplies and entering the tide of the tsunami and back to the ocean. Now, the area where the nuclear plant was located was suppose to be the best area to protect the plant from any disaster and preventing damage but 18 years before 2011 scientific knowledge figured out that a major disaster would be able to reach the plant, yet TEPCO discussed it a bit with the Japanese
1896, Sanriku, Japan: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake rattled Japan, killing more than 26,360 people. In Tangshan, China, 1976, a magnitude 8.0 tsunami killed more than 255,000 people. 2004: The Indian Ocean experienced a 9.0 tsunami, its destruction killing more than 350,000 people. Just last year, Haiti lost 222,570 inhabitants because of a 7.0 earthquake (Brunner and Rowen 1), leaving the country in more trouble than they can dig themselves out of. Earthquakes can be predictable, and unpredictable. They can be harmless, or your worst nightmare. The consequences of natural disasters are unimaginable and it is impossible to fully comprehend the thoughts running through the heads of those left homeless or family less. On March 11, 2011, Japan’s coast was hit by a tsunami, its results affecting almost everywhere in the world.
In Kobe, there are some older and some newer areas to live in. Some houses were built before 1960 and could be made of concrete tiles. Houses like those were not earthquake proof so people who lived in them were in greater danger of their house, and lives suffering from any earthquake. The newer houses however, had a greater chance of not being completely destroyed because they would have ben more recently built, and made with stronger material. Since the year 1981, houses in Japan have been made earthquake proof. Older people were in more danger of death from this point of view because in an older suburb of Kobe, many elderly people lived there and owned older houses. They would have been in their homes at the time of the earthquake, and may have become trapped if their house collapsed.
Japan thought it was prepared for and natural disease. It had conducted drills and planned and evacuation routes. Such as, Schools in Japan are always prepared for any danger for all of the children in all grades. So around the school there are drills; the drills take place every with the children being taught to go head-first under the desk and cling to table legs until the quake is over. If the children are out in the playground the rush to the centre of any open space to avoid being hit by falling debris.
Japan is no stranger to earthquakes nor are they unfamiliar with tsunamis; however, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami was different. Registering at a staggering magnitude of 9.0, the Tohoku earthquake was the largest in Japan's history. The “death toll is estimated at 14,027 people, with 13,754 people missing. Furthermore, the disaster displaced over 136,000 people, destroyed over 4,500 buildings, and damaged 71 bridges, over 3,500 roads, and 26 railways.” (Tomodachi Analysis) Despite the earthquake's magnitude, it was the resultant tsunami that caused the majority of the deaths from this disaster.
A massive Tsunami (Japanese for “Harbor wave”) had hit southern Asia the day after Christmas 2004. The cause of the Tsunami was an offshore earthquake that results in the tectonic plates being displaced and the creation of a vertical shift in the ocean floor. This vertical shift lead to a large volume of water being uplifted and turned to create a huge wave that traveled up to 300 miles per hour, gradually slowing as it reached the shore. At that time, people in the coastal areas were not aware of the terror that they were about to endure. They received no warnings of the tsunami. Unfortunately, 10 meters of the wave caught many people by surprise, as they looked dumfounded when the ocean engulfed them whole. To date this disaster is believed to have killed over three hundred thousand people, marking itself as one of the most devastating Tsunamis ever. The waves from the Tsunami destroyed everything in their path and drowned most innocent living things with it. It has now been concluded that the earthquake, which caused this Tsunami, was probably twice as strong as originally estimated - a magnitude 9.15 instead of 9.0. Much of the slippage along the fault is believed to have taken place as much as a half an hour after the initial quake and continued up to three hours afterward. Additionally, it is feared that earthquake could continue to affect the region for many years and could trigger more large quakes (Eric P H Yap, 2005).
A few years after the tsunami, another earthquake and tsunami struck… in Japan. Japan, a country which is constantly pestered by earthquakes and tsunamis, was ready. Alert systems in the Pacific notified people far before the tsunami hit. In addition, emergency planning allowed people to evacuate in an orderly fashion. Due to these efforts, the death toll in Japan was only