HLS 501 Final Project

HLS 501 FINAL PROJECT Student's Name: Professor's Name: Course Title: Date: The Tohoku Earthquake in Japan Introduction The Tohoku earthquake that occurred on 11th of March 2011 is reported as the fourth largest recorded earthquake with a magnitude 9.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake occurred near the northeastern coast of Honshu in Japan, a region known for notable seismic activity for many decades ranging from 869 A.D. The huge earthquake was later followed by a destructive tsunami that travelled many miles across the Pacific Ocean with effects being felt in the North American and Chilean coastlines. Despite Japan's reputation as a disaster-savvy country, the disaster left many fatalities in Japan and significant global effects. One outstanding feature that was highlighted during this disaster is the humanitarian behavior of the Japanese people; this behavior served as an inspiration, especially to the global media which strongly highlighted their braveness. On the flipside, the Japanese government and its agencies showed some serious deficiencies in the way they handled the disaster response and management processes. The earthquake and its product, the tsunami, created numerous destructive effects in addition to causing large-scale fatalities in the whole of Tohoku and Sendai provinces. In particular, the Tsunami caused flooding in the whole of Tohoku and Sendai - an area of approximately 217 square kilometers. Further, the Tsunami travelled many miles across the Pacific Ocean and its effects were felt as far as the Chilean coastline (approximately 11,200 kilometers from the Honshu source) and the California coastline (approximately 8,200 kilometers from the Honshu source). This case study seeks to describe the Tohoku earthquake of March 2011 in the context of its causes, impacts, and lessons learned from the natural disaster. Impacts of the earthquake will be three-pronged and will focus on secondary disaster situations experienced as a result of the main natural disaster. These situations include: chemical spills, nuclear incidents, and power outages. Further, the case study will objectively critique already existing solutions that the Japanese government has implemented taking into account human safety concerns, socioeconomic and environmental factors, critical resources, and technology issues. Finally, mitigation plans which focus on effectively resolving existing challenges will be presented. Causes of the Earthquake The earthquake was caused by a significant tectonic plate collision along the Japan Trench Subduction zone. This zone is known to be a regular collision site between two major Earth's tectonic plates. In this particular earthquake, one tectonic plate slid beneath another into the mantle, with the hotter layer sliding beneath the Earth's crust. Since both sliding plates are made of layers rocks that are rough and sticky, they stuck together building up great tension and energy between them. This tensional force and energy was then released as a mega earthquake. Preliminary results from scientists indicated that this tectonic plate slide was indeed the cause. The scientists drilled into the Japan Trench Subduction zone immediately after the...