Monday 15th February 2011

recent
found.

study

crust. The great

On March 11th,
2011 the pacific
coast of Thoku
was hit with a 9.0
magnitude
earthquake. The
Japanese city was
also hit with a
tsunami.
The
2011
Tohoku
earthquake
struck offshore of
Japan, along a
subduction zone
where
two
of
Earth's
tectonic
plates collide. In
a
subduction
zone, one plate
slides
beneath
another into the
mantle,
the
hotter
layer
beneath
the

The effect

plates are rough

and
stick
together, building
up energy that is
released
as
earthquakes. East
of
Japan,
the
Pacific plate dives
beneath
the
overriding
Eurasian
plate.
The
temblor
completely
released
centuries of built
up
stress
between the two
tectonic plates, a

The
total
damages
from
the
earthquake
and tsunami are
estimated
at
$300
billion
dollars (about 25
trillion
yen),
according to the
Japanese
government.
There
were
(confirmed)
15,891 who died
4according
to
Japan's National
Police
Agency.
Most people died
by
drowning.
More than 2,500
people are still
reported missing.