The Earhtquake that Devasted Japan in 2011

The earthquake that devastated Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011 was one of the worst disasters to occur in twenty-first century. Not only did the earthquake itself affect the nation, but it also suffered through the following tsunami that occurred afterwards.

Though earthquakes are pretty hard to predict, Japan is normally pretty savvy when preparing for the worst for these tectonic storms. Japan is certainly no stranger to earthquakes, as it experiences upwards of 1,500 of them every year (Israel). As Japan is located along the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific ocean, earthquakes are just a part of life. This particular earthquake was not even the worst Japan has had. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake killed more than 100,000 people (Oskin). The 2011 earthquake came as a shock to scientists in Japan, however for two reasons. One being that a large magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck just two days before and was even followed by a tsunami (Sorkhabi). Normally, when such a large earthquake occurs, it signifies to people that the big earthquakes are done, at least for that time; nobody fathomed that this would be the precursor to such a devastating event. The other reason was that such a large earthquake was unprecedented in Japanese history; Japan had suffered through some very serious earthquakes over the years, but generally, Japan learned from these disasters and made several preparations over the years (in roads, infrastructure, etc.) to handle similar events. Simply because it never happened, nobody figured that an over-nine magnitude earthquake would occur (Sorkhabi).

The epicenter of the earthquake occurred off the shore of Japan along something called a subduction zone. Subduction zones are places where tectonic collis...

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...nd a large recession in the ocean beyond normal tide levels accompanied by a loud roar (Singh). Second, people should know that the higher in elevation you can get during a tsunami, the greater your chances are for survival. If you are in a building with more than one story, get to the highest level of the building you can access. If you are in a one-story building when a tsunami is about to occur, flee to higher ground if there is time (Singh).

Japan, a country that has dealt with earthquakes and tsunamis basically since its founding, was very nearly crippled by the effects of the natural disaster that occurred on Friday March 11, 2011. It is the single largest earthquake ever to hit Japan in terms of magnitude, and serves a reminder to both Japanese citizens and people around the world that we should always be prepared for the worst and to expect the unexpected.