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Earthquake and Subsequent Tsunami in Japan 2011

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

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Table of Contents

Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3

Location and Severity of Earthquake ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3

Cause of Earthquake ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

Mass Destruction and Financial Losses Caused by Tsunami ------------------------------------ 3

Shortcomings in Coastal Engineering to Overcome Subsequent Tsunami ----------------------- 4

Lack of Hard Protection of Breakwaters and Seawalls ------------------------------------------- 4

Failure of Hazard Maps based on Uncertainties and Past Event Estimations ----------------- 4

Failure of Japan Meteorological Agency------------------------------------------------------------ 5

Conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

Recommendations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

References -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
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Earthquake and Subsequent Tsunami in Japan 2011

Introduction

On March 11, 2011, the tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011,

causing widespread destruction. The disaster is sometimes referred to as the 2011 Tohoku

massive earthquake or simply the "Great Tohoku." It was the biggest earthquake to collide

with coastal areas since the late 19th century and one of the world's deadliest earthquakes

since the latest record-keeping initiated in the early start of the twentieth century (Ikehara et

al., 2021). This report aimed to describe the causes and aftermaths of the earthquake and

Tsunami in Japan in 2011. Additionally, the information will underpin shortcomings that

were not addressed proactively in the earthquake and tsunami.

Location and Severity of Earthquake

At a depth of 32 kilometers (approximately 43 miles), this mega-thrust earthquake

with a magnitude of 9.0 underwater originated in Japan's offshore epicenter, situated around

seventy kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula Tohoku. Approximately eighty miles east of

Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, at a depth of 18.6 miles below the western Pacific Ocean's seabed,

the epicenter generated a massive tsunami that swept over the area.

Reasons of Earthquake

As two Earth tectonic plates collided in the subduction zone, the magnitude-9.0

Tohoku earthquake hit coastal areas of Japan in 2011. Two plates move under each other in a

plate boundary, where the hotter mantle is located beneath the crust. Intense earthquakes are

caused by the roughness and stickiness of the big plates (Wallis et al., 2017). The Pacific

plate submerges under the dominant Eurasian plate east of Japan. Researchers had discovered

that the earthquake released centuries of friction between the two plate boundaries that had

been building up before the quake struck.

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Mass Destruction and Financial Losses Caused by Tsunami

Japanese citizens are still suffering from earthquakes and tsunamis. According to the

Japan Reconstruction Agency, 39,000 people were still without a house as of November

2021, with 1,000 people still residing in temporary accommodation (Ichinose et al.,

2019). This earthquake has caused an estimated $199 billion in Japan damages, according to

official estimates. According to the rehabilitation agency, 19,747 people have died as of

December 2021. Over 2,500 individuals are still missing, according to reports.

Shortcomings in Coastal Engineering to Overcome Subsequent Tsunami

Lack of Hard Protection of Breakwaters and Seawalls

In order to safeguard Kamaishi city's highly populated bottom-of-the-bay sector, the

Kamaishi tsunami barrier was built to be the deepest tsunami seawall at about 63 meters. The

use of computer models in tsunami research and engineering was only beginning in its

development. However, even with this barrier in place, the tsunami of 2011 did not spare the

local population. After the 2011 tsunami, it was discovered that concrete seawalls and coastal

barriers lacked strong protection at the dyke toes and formed a weak spot (Alam et al., 2018).

Failure of Hazard Maps based on Uncertainties and Past Event Estimations

Additionally, the 2011 tsunami catastrophe emphasized the need for hazard maps in

two ways. One option is to notify the public that they are in danger. By having access to

information about their danger, individuals are able that they must leave an at-risk place as

immediately and as safely as possible. On the other side, a hazard map may be used to

reassure those who live outside the projected flood area that their region is not at risk. It is a

drawback of depending so much on a hazard map (Koshimura & Shuto, 2015).

Consequently, hazard maps neglected to provide correct projections in several locations

during the 2011 disaster in Japan (Koshimura & Shuto, 2015), which may have increased the

death toll.
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Failure of Japan Meteorological Agency

When it came to providing tsunami warnings and advisories and calculating tsunami

height, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) started utilizing a new method in 1999 and

revised it in 2006 using Earthquake Early Warnings (EEWs). Authorities of Japan were

confident that JMA's tsunami monitoring technology was the most efficient and latest

equipment (Alam et al., 2018). After receiving the tsunami warning, some locals felt secure

enough to stay behind a sea barrier. However, the earthquake-induced blackout rendered the

radio and speaker systems inoperable in some areas and ultimately became the cause of

enormous destruction (Koshimura & Shuto, 2015).

Conclusion

This report concludes with an important lesson from Japan's catastrophe of March 11,

2011. A paradigm change in tsunami disaster management in the country is necessary to

prevent another catastrophe. Even the most impressive seawalls and breakwaters along the

coast cannot guarantee the safety of people and property. On the other hand, Tsunami

warning information may alert the public that they may be at risk, but it cannot ensure their

safety.

Recommendations

This report suggests that seawalls should be planned with overtopping and destruction

so that people are not solely reliant on coastal infrastructure for protection. Huge and well

heighted RC structures with sturdy pillars and barriers can resist flood stream and may be

utilized for vertical evacuation in an emergency. Finally, with the installation of wideband

seismometers and coastal tsunami monitoring equipment, the Japan Meteorological Agency's

tsunami warning improved its capacity for faster and more precise assessment of the

maximum displacement of plates that causes earthquake and tsunami. An essential learning
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point is that people should not rely upon official notification to take action; a severe

earthquake shock is the first alarm to take action proactively.

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References

Alam, M. S., Barbosa, A. R., Scott, M. H., Cox, D. T., & van de Lindt, J. W. (2018).

Development of Physics-Based Tsunami Fragility Functions Considering Structural

Member Failures. Journal of Structural Engineering, 144(3), 04017221.

https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)st.1943-541x.0001953

Ichinose, T., Itagawa, S., & Yamada, Y. (2019). A Century of Land-use Changes and

Economic Damage in Kesennuma City Caused by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and

Tsunami. Journal of Environmental Information Science, 2019(1), 53–59.

https://doi.org/10.11492/ceispapersen.2019.1_53

Ikehara, K., Usami, K., Irino, T., Omura, A., Jenkins, R. G., & Ashi, J. (2021).

Characteristics and distribution of the event deposits induced by the 2011 Tohoku-oki

earthquake and tsunami offshore of Sanriku and Sendai, Japan. Sedimentary Geology,

411, 105791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105791

Koshimura, S., & Shuto, N. (2015). Response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and

Tsunami disaster. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical,

Physical and Engineering Sciences, 373(2053), 20140373.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0373

Wallis, S. R., Fujiwara, O., & Goto, K. (2017). Geological studies in tsunami research since

the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Geological Society, London, Special Publications,

456(1), 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1144/sp456.12