2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

On 11 March 2011, a very strong earthquake happened in the Pacific Ocean, about 72 kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula in the Tōhoku region of Japan. This earthquake was one of the most powerful ever recorded, with a magnitude between 9.0 and 9.1. It lasted about six minutes and caused a big tsunami, a giant wave that rushed toward the land.

The tsunami waves reached heights of up to 40.5 meters in some places and traveled very fast. In some areas, people had only a short time to get to safety before the waves hit. Many places were washed away by the water. The cold weather made it hard for rescue teams to help everyone.

The earthquake and tsunami caused many sad effects. Sadly, many people lost their lives, and many more were hurt or missing after the disaster. The tsunami also caused problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which created difficult situations for people living nearby. The damage from these events was very expensive.

Earthquake

A seismogram recorded in Massachusetts, United States

A very strong undersea megathrust earthquake happened on March 11, 2011, at 2:46 PM Japan Standard Time. It was about 72 kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula in the Tōhoku region of Japan, and it was 32 kilometers deep. The earthquake lasted about six minutes.

First, people thought the earthquake was smaller, but later they found it was very big. It moved the ground a lot and had many aftershocks. The shaking was strong in many parts of Japan and even in some faraway countries.

Intensity	Prefecture
JMA 7	Miyagi
JMA 6+	Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi
JMA 6−	Iwate, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba
JMA 5+	Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi
JMA 5−	Niigata, Nagano, Shizuoka
JMA 4	Hokkaido, Gifu, Aichi
JMA 3	Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Nara
JMA 2	Wakayama, Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Tokushima, Kochi, Saga, Kumamoto
JMA 1	Hiroshima, Kagawa, Ehime, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima

Intensity	Prefecture	Location(s)
JMA 7	Miyagi	Kurihara
JMA 6+	Miyagi	Wakuya, Tome, Misato, Osaki, Natori, Zao, Kawasaki, Yamamoto, Sendai (Miyagino), Ishinomaki, Shiogama, Higashimatsushima, Ohira
	Fukushima	Shirakawa, Sukagawa, Kunimi, Kagamiishi, Ten-ei, Naraha, Tomioka, Okuma, Futaba, Namie, Shinchi
	Ibaraki	Hokota, Hitachi, Takahagi, Omitama, Naka, Kasama, Chikusei, Hitachiomiya
	Tochigi	Otawara, Utsunomiya, Mooka, Ichikai, Takanezawa
JMA 6−	Iwate	Ofunato, Rikuzentakata, Kamaishi, Takizawa, Yahaba, Hanamaki, Ichinoseki, Ōshū
	Miyagi	Kesennuma, Minamisanriku, Shiroishi, Kakuda, Iwanuma, Ogawara, Watari, Sendai (Aoba, Wakabayashi, Izumi), Matsushima, Rifu, Taiwa, Ōsato, Tomiya
	Fukushima	Fukushima, Koriyama, Nihonmatsu, Koori, Kawamata, Nishigō, Nakajima, Yabuki, Tanagura, Tamakawa, Asakawa, Ono, Tamura, Date, Motomiya, Iwaki, Soma, Hirono, Kawauchi, Iitate, Minamisoma
	Ibaraki	Mito, Kitaibaraki, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Tokai, Hitachiota, Tsuchiura, Ishioka, Toride, Tsukuba, Kashima, Itako, Miho, Bando, Inashiki, Kasumigaura, Namegata, Sakuragawa, Joso, Tsukubamirai, Shirosato
	Tochigi	Nasu, Nasushiobara, Haga, Nasukarasuyama, Nakagawa
	Gunma	Kiryu
	Saitama	Miyashiro
	Chiba	Narita, Inzai

Tsunami

An earthquake underwater caused a big wave that moved across the Pacific Ocean. This wave, called a tsunami, damaged areas along the coast of Japan and reached faraway places like the Americas.

NOAA tsunami energy map

In Japan, the tsunami was very strong. It flooded areas near the coast, and many towns were destroyed. The wave was taller than the walls built to stop it, and it reached far inland in some spots.

The tsunami also traveled across the Pacific Ocean. It reached the coasts of North and South America, causing damage in places like Alaska and Chile. Even though the waves were smaller in these faraway places, they still harmed some docks and buildings.

Casualties

Japan

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused many sad situations. Many people died, and others were hurt or missing. Most deaths happened in the areas of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima. Many older people were among those who died.

Unfortunately, some children were also affected. About 100,000 children had to leave their homes, and some were separated from their families. Many children lost parents in the disaster.

Some people from other countries were also affected.

Overseas

The tsunami caused deaths outside of Japan as well. One person died in Indonesia. Another person in the United States was also swept away.

Damage and effects

The earthquake and tsunami caused big damage in Japan. Most of the harm came from the tsunami, which washed away whole towns and left piles of rubble. The cost of fixing everything was very high, in the tens of billions of US dollars. Even though Japan had built special walls to stop tsunamis, the water went right over them in some places.

Many buildings were destroyed or badly damaged. In some areas, nearly every building was gone. Hospitals, roads, and railways were also hurt, making it hard for people to get help or move around. The earthquake and tsunami created a lot of waste, with millions of tons of debris left behind. Some of this waste floated out to sea and ended up on beaches in other countries.

The weather was very cold after the earthquake, with snow falling in some places. This made it even harder for people to stay safe and warm. Many ports were shut down, and some were badly damaged. Dams had problems too, with one dam breaking and causing flooding.

Power went out for millions of homes. Because nuclear power plants were damaged, there were problems getting enough electricity. Factories and businesses had to change their schedules to save power. The government asked everyone to use less electricity until more could be made.

Oil refineries caught fire, and some power plants were hurt. This made it hard to get enough oil and gas. Trains and airports were badly affected. Some train lines were washed away, and airports were flooded. It took a long time to fix everything and get transportation working again. Phone and internet service was also very hard to use right after the earthquake, but it got better over time.

The military helped with rescues, even though their bases were damaged. Many important cultural places, like old temples and gardens, were hurt in the disaster. Some very special buildings and monuments were damaged, but others were lucky and stayed safe.

Aftermath

Main article: Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The earthquake and tsunami caused big problems for people and the economy. Many people in the Tōhoku area had to leave their homes. There were not enough food, water, shelter, medicine, or fuel. The Japanese government sent help, and many countries also sent teams to search for survivors. Aid groups collected money to support those affected.

The disasters damaged cities and towns along the coast, leaving behind a lot of waste. It took many years to clean up. Even years later, some pieces of debris from the tsunami were found far away in the ocean. The government worked to rebuild the area, building higher walls to try to protect against future tsunamis.

Scientific and research response

Scientists were surprised by the Tōhoku earthquake because they thought big quakes happened closer to Tokyo. This earthquake was stronger than they expected in that area. After the quake, scientists studied it to learn more about earthquakes and how to build safer buildings.

Researchers also studied how the earthquake changed the coast. They noticed changes in the animals living there, with some decreasing and new ones appearing. This helps scientists understand how big natural events can affect the environment.