Earthquake and Tsunami Japan

Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?

The epicentre of the earthquake was 130 kilometers off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The earthquake could easily be felt back in Tokyo 400 kilometers away.

Size of the Earthquake

The size of the earthquake was 8.8 to 8.9 on the Richter scale which is a massive earthquake which caused a tsnumai alerts for most of the pacific but Japan was hit hard with 10 metre high waves being propelled towards their coastline.

With the diagram below you can see how serious a 8.9 earthquake can be.

8.0–8.9	Great	Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across.	1 per year
9.0–9.9		Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.	1 per 20 years

Areas which are most effected and describe the devastation


Japan's northeastern Miyagi is the worst hit area with police estimating the death toll could rise to 10,000. Sendai city on the northern coast was engulfed by the strong and fast moving water which swept shipping containers, cars and debris away destroying anything in its path. Buildings, cars, ships have been swept away by the fierce and devastating tsunami. 1000 bodies had been recovered from the mud-streaked wreckage along the coast north of Tokyo, but the death toll from Friday's tsunami in the worst hit Miyagi prefecture would rise beyond 10,000, police said.

Impending man-made disaster

The impending man-made disaster casued by the earthquake and the tsunamis are the nuclear reactors which provide power to the northern region of Japan. The reactors which need a cooling system to stop itself from overheating failed due to the earthquake which cause the cooling system's to stop working. Quote from Sydney Morning Herald : " However, the emergency continues at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Radioactive material released during Saturday's explosion and containing potentially lethal iodine-131 and caesium-137 was detected, a signal that uranium fuel rods inside the plant's No.1 reactor had been damaged." 

Two out of 6 nuclear reactors affected by the earthquake are under serious concern, the other four have been cleared as safe but there is just the issue of the cooling systems working.