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From this piece I found

The length of the seawall

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MARK WILLACY, Reporter: A decade ago, a massive tsunami slammed into Japan, wiping out everything in its wake, killing thousands.

HIROMI KAWAGUCHI: "I was plunged into hell when I realised what happened to my home, my family and friends."

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: I was based in Japan as the ABC correspondent when the tsunami hit. The scale of the suffering and the destruction was truly devastating. In its aftermath, the government pledged to build massive sea walls to protect communities from future tsunamis. Ten years on, almost 400 kilometres of walls have been built, but many say the walls designed to protect their communities actually put them at greater danger. The critics say, the Great Wall of Japan has sliced the coastline, cut communities off from their livelihoods, and destroyed their culture.

ATSUSHI FUJITA: "We feel like a part of our ourselves has been torn away."

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Many believe the billions spent could have been better used on evacuation plans and moving more towns to higher ground. The government insists the wall does slow a tsunamis' advance and increase evacuation times, saving lives.

KAZUNORI YAMAMOTO: "Without the breakwall my whole family would have died."

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Foreign Correspondent investigates whether the Great Wall of Japan is a solution or an expensive failure.

School students are visiting the coastal town of Taro to learn about the 2011 tsunami.

MINORU OBATA: "Behold the seawall. We have defied the tsunami so many times..." We're now on the first seawall. It was so solid, people called it The Great Wall of Japan.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: After two devasting tsunamis in 1896 and 1933, Taro thought it was finally protected with this 10 metre high seawall. This X-shaped double levee has been held up as a model since its construction in the late 1950s.

MINORU OBATA: The town was rebuilt behind this seawall, with levees like the bow of a ship. So even if a tsunami was coming, we felt safe behind our great seawall.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: All that changed on the 11th of March, 2011. A tsunami resulting from a magnitude-9 earthquake killed 18,500 people and wiped out 560 square kilometres of land. All along the north-eastern coast of Japan, waves reaching 15 metres high swept away everything in their path: vehicles, homes, people - and the sea walls meant to protect them.

MINORU OBATA: The tsunami swept over the seawall and swallowed up the town. Of Taro's 4,400 resident, 181 lost their lives. Some said our seawall was useless against the waves that swept over it.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: The failure of the old sea walls could have stopped the Japanese building more. But the opposite has happened. Japan is building new ones-higher, wider and longer. It's a massive project - 400 kilometres of seawalls, with an average height of 13 metres, at a cost of 17 billion dollars. Professor Satoko Seino from Kyushu University says it's one of the biggest construction projects Japan has ever undertaken.

SATOKO SEINO: Until now, seawalls protected a single town or specific zone. This is the first time seawalls are being built to protect the coast of an entire region, including uninhabited zones.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Most of the construction will be finished later this year. The 400 kilometre continuous wall will close off every river along the splintered north east coast of Japan. But the mega-project has caused controversy and raised serious questions: How much can we protect ourselves from natural disasters? And can walls really save lives?

At Noda, about 50 kilometres south of Taro, construction workers are starting their day. The first task for the men is to consolidate the ground invaded by seawater with reinforced concrete piles before erecting the new barriers. Supported by foundations of some 25 metres deep, a 14 metre high seawall forms the front line, backed by a 40 metre wide bank of earth covered with concrete slabs. This levee will stretch for two and a half kilometres along Noda's beach.

HITOSHI NAKANO: This used to be a beach where people came to fish, bathe and have fun. As you can see, it's a beautiful setting; it's a really lovely place. If people didn't live here, it would be fine not to have the wall. But my hometown vanished due to the tsunami.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Hitoshi Nakano returned to Noda with a mission: to help his hometown rise up again from the devastation caused by the tsunami. For him, the new seawall will be the best protection against future tsunamis.

HITOSHI NAKANO: The difference with the previous wall is that this one is meant to be resistant were it to be submerged by the wave. The foundations are really strong.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: The project also includes floodgates which are left open to allow the rivers to flow into the sea. They're only closed in the event of a tsunami.

HITOSHI NAKANO: In the 2011 tsunami, many firemen died when they went to close the gates. To stop that from happening again, we've decided to install an automatic system which we can control remotely by satellite. So we can now close the gates without men needing to be on the spot.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: At the prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo, researchers are still learning lessons from March 11th, 2011. Again and again, this simulator reproduces a tsunami wave, and the way it spreads and crashes into seawalls, levees and buildings. Modelling their waves on those of the 2011 tsunami - with an average of 15 metres, and 40 metres at their highest - the scientists found that no matter how high the seawalls are, not all tsunamis could be stopped.

PROF TOMOYA SHIBAYAMA: We made a very big discussion, what would be the appropriate height of breakwaters and also the tsunami barrier, and our final conclusion is that if that the tsunami height is too high it's very expensive to protect perfectly and reflect waters. So we prepare for that tsunami for once in a hundred years. If tsunami height is more than that, then we recommend the resident to evacuate the from residential area before the tsunami arrivals.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Since the seawalls can't stop every wave, they're being built to stay upright and in place, if they are submerged. But can they dilute the destructive power of a tsunami and make the residents behind the wall safer? 440 kilometres north of Tokyo, in Kamaishi City, Kazunori Yamamoto has some of the answers in the masterwork he designed.

KAZUNORI YAMAMOTO: It was the first time that a breakwater had been built in the sea with such deep foundations. It was even recognised as the deepest in the Guinness Book of World Records.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: At the entrance to Kamaishi Bay, the 6 metre high, 2 kilometre long breakwater was a technical feat due to its incredible depth of 63 metres. It took three decades to construct and cost more than a billion dollars. When it opened in 2009, it was the most expensive coastal protection structure in Japan.

KAZUNORI YAMAMOTO: The decision was taken to build this breakwater because there was a large steelworks here and this used to be an international port. It was an important harbour. The port of Kamaishi was always particularly exposed to storms, and a local storm could cause huge waves to enter the port. When that happened, a cargo ship moored to the pier of the steelworks would sway enough to snap the rope. So when the sea was wild in Kamaishi, the loading of ships had to be halted.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: But this centre of iron and steel has become a shadow of its former self since the closure of its last steelworks in the late 1980s. When the breakwater opened in 2009, Kamaishi was fast losing its population. The cost of the breakwater was considered far too much for a city in decline. And only two years later, the 2011 tsunami delivered the final blow to this ambitious structure.

KAZUNORI YAMAMOTO: The northern part of the breakwater was totally destroyed. The southern part was half destroyed. But in the end, the breakwater earned us precious time and enabled a lot of people to escape. Without the breakwater, my family would have died. We've since realised that time was the key to our survival. No doubt about it.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Researchers came from all over the world to study the remains of this model breakwater and to determine whether the structure did help, despite its near-total destruction. And the results are positive. PARI, the Japanese Port and Airport Research Institute, concluded that the breakwater delayed the arrival of the tsunami's first wave by 6 minutes and reduced its height from 13.7 metres to 8 metres. So the wall has been rebuilt at a cost of about 850 million dollars.

SATOKO SEINO: March 2011 was the first time that Japanese people saw film of a devastating tsunami, where people and homes being swallowed up by the wave. In that moment, people rallied behind talk of building a massive wall. I think that was the feeling of the whole society. In such situation you face the question, "What's more important - human lives or a natural landscape?" You must decide which is more important.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Akahama is one of the few villages to have refused a giant seawall. The initial project was for a wall 14 metres high; but it has been lowered to 6 metres, small compared to most in the region. Heading the opposition is Hiromi Kawaguchi, an unlikely rebel considering what he experienced in his village.

HIROMI KAWAGUCHI: I couldn't tell what was going on. I couldn't look for my family or get hold of them to ask "What's happened? Where are you?" By the time I realised, my neighbours, community and I were heading towards the lowest point in our lives. My mother, my wife and my grandson. I lost three loved ones. Since then I've been all alone. It's been years, and I can't take it anymore. Japan is an island, and the fishermen on the coast make their living from the riches of the ocean. It brings us so many good things, so despite the damage caused by the disaster, nobody can hate the ocean. If another one came, bring it on! We will not be defeated. That's how island fishermen think. Ask anyone. A tsunami can't stop us.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Despite losing his family and his home, Hiromi Kawaguchi organised fellow villagers to decide their future. He wanted to rebuild the village without a seawall, or at most have a small barrier, one that wouldn't interfere with their livelihoods. At first the residents of Akahama did not support him: Why turn down jobs and a government funded project? But after a few meetings, they've rallied behind him.

HIROMI KAWAGUCHI: The government was in disarray and it was surprised when the villages in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures spoke up. The tsunami destroyed everything. After that, the government showed us their plan for a 14-and-a half-metre-high seawall, and told us to rebuild our village behind it. I was immediately against it, because you should never repeat the same mistake. Everything manmade is destined to be destroyed. The seawall cement is supposed to last 50 years, but with the wind and the salt water, it won't last longer than 25-30 years. With the last tsunami, the old wall was destroyed. It was left floating on the surface like cubes of tofu! That's no seawall. You only have to look at what most people do here. They make their living from fishing. My concern is the local fishermen. If they stick a 14.5 metre high seawall here, with foundations measuring 60 metres across, it will come right up to here. That would affect space used for fish farming and we'd have to move somewhere else.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Hiromi says the seawall breaks the connection between the residents and the ocean, a bond that has provided him and his ancestors a way of life for centuries. Further down the coast, other fishing villages have similar concerns about the seawalls. In Rikuzentakata, oyster farmer, Atsushi Fujita also feels the wall cuts him off from his livelihood, the ocean.

ATSUSHI FUJITA: Not a single day of my life has passed without me seeing the ocean. We're all very sad that our former lifestyle has gone and we can no longer see the ocean from our houses. We feel like part of our own selves has been torn away. We feel very oppressed when we're working; it's as if we've been locked in.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: In 2011, a 13 metre high wave left Rikuzentakata in a state of absolute desolation. With 1,765 victims, this village paid a very high price. The government response matched the scale of the disaster. In Hirota Bay, the once modest 4 metre high seawall has now been replaced by one three times the size.

- We can't see the ocean anymore.

- Would be much better with the view. It looks bleak.

- We could be in Saitama or in Gunma. Anywhere at all, in fact.

- The only thing that's left is the salt in the air.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: These days, the only view at Atsushi Fujita's oyster restaurant is the wall. But the problem is much more than aesthetic. By cutting the inhabitants off from the ocean, the wall that is meant to protect them is actually making them more vulnerable to future tsunamis.

ATSUSHI FUJITA: With a lower wall, after an earthquake you could immediately see any changes in the ocean from higher ground or from your house. But with this, we can't keep an eye on the ocean anymore. When it comes, the tide goes out and you see rocks and seabed that we never usually see, that's how we can generally tell whether it's going to be big or not.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: The wall is also damaging their ancestral tradition of oysters, Rikuzentakata's prized product.

ATSUSHI FUJITA: The saltwater and freshwater currents meet at the mouth of the Kesen River. It's where they meet that the conditions are perfect for growing oysters. With a 12.5 metre high wall, and foundations 12 metres beneath the seabed, all of the groundwater and water coming off the mountains is trapped inland. The freshwater can no longer flow into the sea. I'm very worried about the effect this will have on my oysters. The next tsunami could be even higher than the one on March 11th, 2011. If it's lower, the authorities will claim that the wall protected us from it. The fact is, nobody really knows anything. We have to live in the present. The ocean is our life; it's thanks to her we're alive.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Giant concrete seawalls are being built on a scale never seen before. In a country known for corrupt links between the state and the construction sector, the post-tsunami reconstruction is a chance for government to reward construction companies for support and donations. It's also a way to boost the stagnating Japanese economy. Back in Taro, the students are learning how the faith the residents put in the wall lead to disaster.

MINORU OBATA: The earthquake struck 40 minutes before, so most people had already fled. But some people went home to collect belongings because they'd heard the tsunami was small. Some climbed the wall to watch the tsunami approach. Unfortunately for them, they lost their lives.

VIDEO: "The tsunami's here! Get out!"

MINORU OBATA: That's the voice of the hotel owner, telling an old lady the tsunami was coming, because from where she was, she couldn't see it.

VIDEO: "The tsunami's here!"

MINORU OBATA: The tsunami is heading towards the train station. A one in a thousand year tsunami.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: The brutal realities of a tsunami are clear, and the lesson is, flee the moment the alarm is raised; do not trust the seawalls can save you. A study carried out at Tokyo University found that the presence of seawalls added 30 percent to evacuation times during the 2011 tsunami. So while costal barriers delay the arrival of a wave, they also delay the departure of the inhabitants. Walls give residents a false sense of security.

MINORU OBATA: When a big earthquake causes a tsunami we say, "Leave everything and flee to the hills." Forget your house and family, you'll see them later. Save yourself first.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Every year, Natural Disaster Prevention Day aims to instil the survival reflexes needed in case of an earthquake or tsunami. Evacuation plans and ensuring quick and easy access to higher ground have proven more successful at saving lives than seawalls. For the 2011 tsunami, it was more this collective disaster awareness, rather than sea walls, that explains why the death toll wasn't much higher. If heading for the hills is good advice for individuals, Hiromi Kawaguchi believes it could be a good solution for entire towns and villages as well.

HIROMI KAWAGUCHI: In Akahama, we did things democratically and gathered everyone together and explained it to them. At first, they didn't want to abandon their ancestors' land near the sea, because their tombs are there. Nobody wanted to leave those behind. But I said, "I'm moving, so we all moved." My dream was to build a village that would guarantee the safety of my grandchildren. The best way to do that was to all move to higher ground.

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: At Akahama, Hiromi Kawaguchi and his neighbours are not the only ones to relocate. Other coastal communities badly hit by the tsunami have moved their homes to higher ground. Many areas wiped out by the waves have now been depopulated, converted into parks and rice paddies. Atsushi Fujita's oyster restaurant will also soon have to move. He says there is no point in building seawalls if they're only going to protect parks and rice paddies.

ATSUSHI FUJITA: Before the tsunami, this land was covered in houses. There's nothing there now. Where those cars are parked was a convenience store. Everything was swept away. Look around. No houses are being rebuilt. So if there are no houses here, I wonder whether we really need such a high seawall?

MARK WILLACY, Reporter: Despite many questions about the value and the effectiveness of Japan's giant sea walls, the government is determined to finish them. But these efforts to contain the forces of nature comes at a great cost to Japan's maritime history, culture and identity.

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MARK WILLACY, Reporter: A decade ago, a massive tsunami slammed into Japan, wiping out everything in its wake, killing thousands. HIROMI KAWAGUCHI: "I was plunged into hell when I realised what happened to my home, my family and friends." MARK WILLACY, Reporter: I was based in Japan as the ABC correspondent when the tsunami hit.

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While reading this article I was taught

The cost of the seawall

The length of the wall

The height of the seawall

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The Japanese town of Taro had sea walls that were supposed to be able to survive almost anything the ocean could offer up, but the 2011 tsunami still brought utter destruction.

A decade after the deadly waves unleashed by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history, the lesson learned in many coastal towns was: build higher.

That has left a legacy cast in concrete along hundreds of kilometres of Japan's northeastern coast -- with a few notable exceptions where communities have rejected the imposing barriers.

Before 2011, people in Taro assumed their walls would withstand just about everything.

"Taro had built a perfect town to prevent disaster," 63-year-old local tour guide Kumiko Motoda told AFP.

The town adopted sea walls as early as 1934, after being engulfed by huge tsunamis in 1896 and 1933.

Its 10-metre high barriers, running 2.3 kilometres (1.4 miles) in total, were known collectively as "The Great Wall" and came with 44 tsunami evacuation routes, equipped with solar panels to keep the lights on.

Roads were designed with clear views for evacuees, and residents were supposed to be able to get to safety in less than 10 minutes, Motoda explained.

But the 16-metre wave that arrived on March 11 made quick work of those best-laid plans, streaming over the walls and partially destroying them as it carried away homes and cars.

Across Taro, 140 residents were killed and 41 remain missing.

After the disaster, Japan's government asked coastal regions in the area to consider constructing or rebuilding protective walls, eventually setting aside 1.3 trillion yen ($12 billion) in funds.

In all, 430 kilometres of non-contiguous barriers will be built, with construction around 80 percent complete.

The structures have reshaped the coastal landscape, screening long sections of the sea from view.

In Taro, the walls are now up to 14.7 metres high and run for over two kilometres.

At their base, residents must crane their necks to even see the top. For a glimpse of the ocean, they must climb more than 30 steps up a staircase that looks like it leads directly to the sky.

Experts say the barriers are worth it, offering two key protections: bouncing back the power of the waves, which reduces damage, and buying time for evacuation.

Even a few minutes can count for everything, said Tomoya Shibayama, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Waseda University.

"There were many moments (in 2011) where these few minutes of time decided whether people were able to evacuate or were caught up by the tsunami," he told AFP.

Newer designs incorporate wider bases and reinforced inner walls to stop the barriers being toppled and better absorb the force of multiple waves.

Heights have been adjusted based on new predictions of the highest waves that could occur in once-in-a-century tsunamis.

Other lessons have been learned too, with improved warning systems, computer simulations to map evacuation routes and relocations of communities.

While the barriers aren't enough alone, Shibayama said, they remain necessary.

"There is always a risk of natural disasters," even if communities relocate. "Japan is a disaster-prone archipelago," he warned.

Taro's experience in 2011 showed the walls are not a fail-safe solution.

"There were people who didn't evacuate, thinking the tsunami wouldn't reach them," Motoda noted.

The initial warning described a three-metre wave, and by the time it was upgraded to a 10-metre warning, power outages meant many missed the alert.

A large quake two days earlier had also only produced a minor wave, possibly lulling some into a false sense of security.

"The sea walls are here to buy time for people to evacuate, not to stop a tsunami," Motoda said.

Motoda, whose mother remains missing after the tsunami, believes the walls serve another poignant purpose: keeping bodies from washing out to sea.

"I feel she would have returned home if the sea walls hadn't been destroyed," she said.

But the walls are not without controversy, and some communities have rejected being cut off from the sea, regardless of the risks.

The tiny fishing village of Mone in Miyagi lost 42 of its 55 houses in the 2011 tsunami, but instead of building a wall, it decided to move.

"The only way to protect our lives when a tsunami comes is to evacuate to a higher place. Whether there is a sea wall doesn't matter," said local oyster farmer Makoto Hatakeyama.

The village, which lost four people in the tsunami, relocated 40 metres above sea level.

Hatakeyama, like many fishermen, actually headed into the sea in a bid to protect his boat. He survived only by swimming to a nearby island.

He believes sea walls can offer a false sense of security.

"There is nothing you can do about a tsunami... Humans should understand they live in a place where natural disasters such as tsunamis and quakes happen."

And losing a direct connection to the ocean isn't a sacrifice he's willing to make.

"This view, this community's wind, atmosphere... There's almost nowhere like it in Japan," the 42-year-old said.

"The sea is my identity. It makes me feel calm. This is my home."

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The towering sea wall legacy of Japan's 2011 tsunami

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The Japanese town of Taro had sea walls that were supposed to be able to survive almost anything the ocean could offer up, but the 2011 tsunami still brought utter destruction. A decade after the deadly waves unleashed by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history, the lesson learned in many coastal towns was: build higher.

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From this article I found

The definition of the earthquake

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What is an earthquake?
Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth's surface. They are the Earth's natural means of releasing stress. More than a million earthquakes rattle the world each year. The West Coast is most at risk of having an earthquake, but earthquakes can happen in the Midwest and along the East Coast. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted - although scientists are working on it!

Click Here to learn more about earthquakes from USGS.

What causes an earthquake?
There are about 20 plates along the surface of the earth that move continuously and slowly past each other. When the plates squeeze or stretch, huge rocks form at their edges and the rocks shift with great force, causing an earthquake. Think of it this way: Imagine holding a pencil horizontally. If you were to apply a force to both ends of the pencil by pushing down on them, you would see the pencil bend. After enough force was applied, the pencil would break in the middle, releasing the stress you have put on it. The Earth's crust acts in the same way. As the plates move they put forces on themselves and each other. When the force is large enough, the crust is forced to break. When the break occurs, the stress is released as energy which moves through the Earth in the form of waves, which we feel and call an earthquake. (Graphic Credit: Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future)

Click Here to see an animation of an earthquake. It's great for kids, because they get to see how it actually happens!

What is a fault?
A fault is an area of stress in the earth where broken rocks slide past each other, causing a crack in the Earth's surface. There are the major types of faults: dip-slip normal, dip-slip reverse, strike-slip, and oblique-slip.

What are plate tectonics?
The theory of plate tectonics is a interesting story of continents drifting from place to place breaking apart, colliding, and grinding against each other. The plate tectonic theory is supported by a wide range of evidence that considers the earth's crust and upper mantle to be composed of several large, thin, relatively rigid plates that move relative to one another. (See plate tectonic graphic above.) The plates are all moving in different directions and at different speeds. Sometimes the plates crash together, pull apart or sideswipe each other. When this happens, it commonly results in earthquakes.

Continental Drift: To see this animation again, just refresh this page! This animation shows you what our planet looked like millions of years ago and what it looks like now! (Graphic Credit: Geology Department at University of California, Berkeley)

What is a seismograph?
A seismograph is an instrument used for recording the intensity and duration of an earthquake.

Click Here to calculate the strength of earthquakes!

What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage!

Know the Lingo

EPICENTER - The point on the earth's surface directly above the source of the earthquake.

SEISMIC WAVES - The energy created by the quake travels in waves from the epicenter, where they are the strongest. The waves shake buildings, structures and the earth vertically, causing them to move horizontally!

RICHTER SCALE - A measurement of an earthquake's intensity. Each one-point increase on the scale indicates ten times the amount of shaking and 33 times the amount of energy. The energy released by a large earthquake may be equal to 10,000 times the energy of the first atomic bomb.

4

Minor Earthquake

5

Moderate Earthquake

6

Strong Earthquake

7

Major Earthquake

8

Great Earthquake

Richter Scale

Earthquake Safety Tips
BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE: Have a disaster plan. Emergency preparedness can save lives. Choose a safe place in every room. It's best to get under a sturdy piece of furniture like a table or a desk where nothing can fall on you. Practice DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Drop under something sturdy, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If you live in an earthquake prone area, bolt tall furniture to the wall and install strong latches to cupboards. Prepare a first aid kit for your home. By taking special precautions and checking for hazards before a disaster strikes, you will be much more likely to stay safe. DURING AN EARTHQUAKE: DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON! Stay indoors until the shaking stops. Stay away from windows. If you're in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. If you're outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees and power lines. Then, drop to the ground. If you're in a car, slow down and drive to a safe place. Stay in the car until the shaking stops.

AFTER THE SHAKING STOPS: Check for injuries. Inspect your home for damage. Eliminate fire hazards, so turn off the gas if you think its leaking. Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON.
Earthquake Activities
Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan on learning about how thrust faults are responsible for the uplift of many mountain ranges across the world, including the Los Angeles Basin. This is a great lesson plan for middle and high school students.

Lesson Plan: Here is a great lesson plan keeping track of earthquakes around the world. In this activity, kids keep a record of the location of earthquakes for a week and learn about plate tectonics.

Earthquake Experiment: Here is a great experiment that explains how to prepare for an earthquake.Science Fair Ideas: Here is a list of science fair project ideas that deal with earthquakes.

Science Fair Project Ideas: Here is a complete list of science fair project ideas. Discover the science behind the weather that impacts us every day.

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Weather Wiz Kids weather information for kids

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Weather Wiz Kids is a fun and safe website for kids about all the weather info they need to know. It contains tools for weather education, including weather games, activities, experiments, photos, a glossary and educational teaching materials for the classroom.

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From the BBC I found:

The number of buildings that were destroyed

The number of people who lost electricity

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The epicentre was 43 miles east of Tohoku at a depth of 20 miles.

The earthquake lasted 6 minutes and caused a tsunami wave that reached heights of over 40 metres.

Earthquake destruction in Japan

The plates involved

Japan is located in one of the most active earthquake zones on earth.

The Philippine plate and the Pacific plate are moving towards the much bigger continental Eurasian and North American plates.

The movement can be up to around 8cm each year.

The thin, oceanic Pacific plate is being forced (sub-ducted) underneath the much thicker continental Eurasian plate.

Friction has built up over time and when released this caused a massive 'megathrust' earthquake.

The amount of energy released in this single earthquake was equivalent to 600 million times the energy of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

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Case study: Tohoku, Japan - Earthquakes - CCEA - GCSE Geography Revision - CCEA - BBC Bitesize

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The epicentre was 43 miles east of Tohoku at a depth of 20 miles. The earthquake lasted 6 minutes and caused a tsunami wave that reached heights of over 40 metres. Earthquake destruction in Japan Japan is located in one of the most active earthquake zones on earth.

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From this source I found

The dept of the focus point of the earthquake

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This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science.

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m. local time (05:46 Universal Time, or UTC), a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan, at 38.3 degrees North latitude and 142.4 degrees East longitude. The epicenter was 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai, and 373 kilometers (231 miles) northeast of Tokyo. If initial measurements are confirmed, it will be the world's fifth largest earthquake since 1900 and the worst in Japan's history.

This map shows the location of the March 11 earthquake, as well as the foreshocks (dotted lines) and aftershocks (solid lines). The size of each circle represents the magnitude of the associated quake or shock. The map also includes land elevation data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and ocean bathymetry data from the British Oceanographic Data Center.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at a depth of 24.4 kilometers (15.2 miles) beneath the seafloor. The March 11 earthquake was preceded by a series of large foreshocks on March 9, including an M7.2 event. USGS reported that the earthquakes "occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface plate boundary."

The March 11 quake sent tsunami waves rushing into the coast of Japan and rippling out across the entire Pacific basin. Crescent-shaped coasts and harbors, such as those near Sendai, can play a role in focusing the waves as they approach the shore. Also, since land elevation is low and flat along much of the Japanese coast, many areas are particularly vulnerable to tsunamis.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported maximum tsunami heights of 4.1 meters at Kamaishi at 3:21 p.m. (06:21 UTC), 7.3 meters at 3:50 p.m. (06:50 UTC) at Soma, and 4.2 meters at 4:52 p.m. (07:52 UTC) at Oarai.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) reported a wave with maximum height of 2.79 meters (9.2 feet) at an observing station at Hanasaki, Hokkaido, at 3:57 p.m. local time (06:57 UTC). Other PTWC reports:

1.27 meters (4.2 feet) at 10:48 UTC at Midway Island

1.74 meters (5.7 feet) at 13:72 UTC at Kahului, Maui, Hawaii

1.41 meters (4.6 feet) at 14:09 UTC at Hilo, Hawaii

0.69 meters (2.3 feet) at 15:42 UTC in Vanuatu

1.88 meters (6.2 feet) at 16:54 UTC at Port San Luis, California

2.02 meters (6.6 feet) at 16:57 UTC at Crescent City, California

1. References

2. Japan Meteorological Agency (2011, March 11). Latest Tsunami Information. Accessed March 11, 2011.

3. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (2011, March 11). Tsunami Messages for the Pacific Ocean. Accessed March 11, 2011.

4. U.S. Geological Survey (2011, March 11). Magnitude 8.9 - Near The East Coast of Honshu, Japan. Accessed March 11, 2011.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen, using earthquake and plate tectonics data from the USGS Earthquake Hazard Program, land elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) provided by the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility, and ocean bathymetry data from the British Oceanographic Data Center's Global Bathmetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). Caption by Michael Carlowicz.

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Earthquake and Tsunami near Sendai, Japan

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On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Sendai. If the initial estimate is confirmed, it will be the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history.

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From this article by Topex I discovered

The effects of earthquakes

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Next: Earthquake Myths and Misconceptions Up: ES 10 Lecture Previous: How big can an
The primary effects of earthquakes are ground shaking, ground rupture, landslides, tsunamis, and liquefaction. Fires are probably the single most important secondary effect of earthquakes.
Ground shaking is the most familiar effect of earthquakes. It is a result of the passage of seismic waves through the ground, and ranges from quite gentle in small earthquakes to incredibly violent in large earthquakes. In the 27 March 1964 Alaskan earthquake, for example, strong ground shaking lasted for as much as 7 minutes! Buildings can be damaged or destroyed, people and animals have trouble standing up or moving around, and objects can be tossed around due to strong ground shaking in earthquakes. However, you should note that, while many people are killed in earthquakes, none are actually killed directly by the shaking -- if you were out in an open field during a magnitude 9 earthquake, you would be extremely scared (I know I would), but your chance of dying would be zero or damn near it. It is only because we persist in building buildings, highways, and the like that people are killed; it's our responsibility, not the earthquake's.
Below is an image of the Cypress viaduct which was part of Interstate 880 in Oakland, CA. The upper level of the two-level structure has collapsed onto the lower level as a result of failure of the support columns. The columns failed partially in response to ground shaking from the 17 October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake amplified by loose sediments near the Oakland waterfront. 41 people were killed in the collapse.

Image by H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey.

Below is an image from the Marina District in San Francisco. The Marina District is built on Bay mud which was pumped onto the San Francisco waterfront for the 1915 Pan-American Exposition. This fill both underwent liquefaction (see below) and considerably amplified ground shaking from the Loma Prieta earthquake. These factors together led to the collapse of many houses and apartment buildings in the Marina District.

Image by J.K. Nakata, U.S. Geological Survey.

Ground rupture is another important effect of earthquakes which occurs when the earthquake movement along a fault actually breaks the Earth's surface. While active ground rupture is comparatively rare, there have been cases of it in California -- for example, during the 1906 earthquake, fences near Pt. Reyes were offset by as much as 7 meters. And in the Owens Valley earthquake in 1872, a fault scarp as much as 8 meters high broke the ground near Lone Pine. Rupture causes problems for humans by, well, rupturing things; pipelines, tunnels, aqueducts, railway lines, roads, and airport runways which cross an area of active rupture can easily be destroyed or severely damaged.

Below is a classic picture of a scarp formed by the 16 December 1954 Dixie Valley earthquake (magnitude 6.8) in Nevada. The miner's shack next to the scarp was relatively undamaged, despite being only a few meters from the two- to three-meter offset.

Image by Karl V. Steinbrugge.

Landslides are caused by earthquakes both by direct rupture and by sustained shaking of unstable slopes. They can easily destroy buildings in their path, or block roads and railroad lines, or take hilltop homes with them as they tumble. They even can dam rivers on occasion, like in the 17 August 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake (magnitude 7.1) in Montana.

Below is an image of a large landslide which fell across Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The concrete blocks in the foreground are broken chunks of the center divider on the highway. The road, which is a major commute route from Santa Cruz to the Silicon Valley, was closed for several weeks after the earthquake.

Image by C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey

Tsunamis, which are popularly -- and incorrectly -- known as ``tidal waves,'' are a grave hazard to many parts of the world, particularly around the Pacific Ocean basin. Tsunamis are a series of water waves caused when the seafloor moves vertically in an earthquake (which is why they are uncommon in California earthquakes -- most CA earthquakes are strike-slip, with little or no vertical motion) and which can travel vast distances in a short period of time. Tsunami speeds in the deep ocean have been measured at more than 700 km/hr, comparable to some jet planes, and when tsunamis reach shallow water near the coast, they can reach heights of more than 27 meters (90 feet)! Remember that tsunamis are a series of waves, and may start with a gentle withdrawal of water, followed by a very abrupt arriving wave, followed by another withdrawal, etc. The safest thing to do if you hear a tsunami is coming is to move to higher ground away from the beach as quickly as possible.

Below is an image of a tsunami striking the coast in Hilo, Hawaii. This tsunami was generated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands on 1 April 1946. Here, the tsunami height is about 6 meters (20 feet).

Image by Mrs. Harry A Simms, Sr.

Below is one of the most famous tsunami pictures in existence, also of the 1946 tsunami in Hilo. The picture was taken from the deck of the SS Brigham Victory in Hilo Harbor. The man in the picture (indicated by the white arrow) was killed by the wave.

Image by NOAA/EDIS

Liquefaction and subsidence of the ground are important effects which often are the cause of much destruction in earthquakes, particularly in unconsolidated ground. Liquefaction is when sediment grains are literally made to float in groundwater, which causes the soil to lose all its solidity. Subsidence can then follow as the soil recompacts. Sand blows, or sand volcanoes, form when pressurized jets of groundwater break through the surface. They can spray mud and sand over an area a few meters across. All of these effects pose a grave danger to buildings, roads, train lines, airport runways, gas lines, etc. Buildings have actually tipped over and sunk partway into liquefied soils, as in the 1964 Niigata earthquake in Japan. Underground gas tanks and septic tanks (yuck!) have been known to float to the surface through liquefied soils. All told, liquefaction and associated effects resulted in more than $20 billion damage in the 1995 Kobe earthquake, and similar levels of damage are possible in US port facilities during a large earthquake.

Below is a picture of the Kwangishicho Apartments in Niigata, Japan. Three of the buildings (the white ones) have tilted over due to liquefaction. One of the buildings has tilted 75° from the vertical. Despite these large tilts, the apartments were largely intact -- people were able to escape by walking down the side of the most tilted building.

Image from CDMG.

Below is a good example of a series of sand blows. The total length of the deposit is about 6-7 meters (20-23 feet), and it resembles a system of volcanic fissures and vents in miniature. This is a good example of why sand blows are also called ``sand volcanoes''.

Image by J.C. Tinsley, U.S. Geological Survey.

Fires are a major source of damage after earthquakes. Ground rupture and liquefaction can easily rupture natural gas mains and water mains, both contributing to the ignition of fires and hindering the efforts to control them. In an amazing example of this, during the 1994 Northridge earthquake there were actually places where water was pouring down streets from broken water mains -- and at the same spot and same time, fire was roaring out of ruptured gas mains! Shaking also contributes to starting fires, by knocking down power lines, spilling flammable liquids from storage containers, and tossing hot coals from barbeques and stoves. In the 1923 Kanto earthquake in Japan nearly 100,000 people died -- over 70,000 of them due to fires which swept the area after the earthquake. And of course most of the damage in San Francisco from the 1906 earthquake was caused by the subsequent fires.

Below is a terrifying image of fire after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Here, some neighbors are struggling to help put out fires along Balboa Avenue which were sparked by a broken gas main. They are having to face the major problem of fighting a fire in an area with broken water mains as well. You may be able to imagine why fire is such a threat.

Image by Ken Lubas, Los Angeles Times

Earthquakes are not Evil!

Now, with all these types of major damage, people often ascribe malevolence to earthquakes. Please keep in mind: not a single person has ever been killed directly by an earthquake. It is the fact that we humans persist in building things which are prone to failure in earthquakes, and then living in and around these buildings, that results in deaths during earthquakes. Earthquakes are mindless natural phenomena; we aren't.

Sources

Next: Earthquake Myths and Misconceptions Up: ES 10 Lecture Previous: How big can an

Greg Anderson
ganderson@ucsd.edu
Fri Feb 28 16:14:29 PST 1997

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Next: Earthquake Myths and Misconceptions Up: ES 10 Lecture Previous: How big can an The primary effects of earthquakes are ground shaking, ground rupture, landslides, tsunamis, and liquefaction. Fires are probably the single most important secondary effect of earthquakes. Ground shaking is the most familiar effect of earthquakes.

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While reading this I found

The location of the earthquake

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What was the magnitude of the earthquake that caused the tsunami that devastated coastal areas of Japan in 2011?

Where was the epicenter of the Great Sendai Earthquake?

What was the death toll of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011?

What effects did the Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 have?

By what names is the Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 known?

Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011, severe natural disaster that occurred in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The event began with a powerful earthquake off the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, which caused widespread damage on land and initiated a series of large tsunami waves that devastated many coastal areas of the country, most notably in the Tōhoku region (northeastern Honshu). The tsunami also instigated a major nuclear accident at a power station along the coast.

The earthquake and tsunami

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck at 2:46 pm. (The early estimate of magnitude 8.9 was later revised upward.) The epicentre was located some 80 miles (130 km) east of the city of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, and the focus occurred at a depth of 18.6 miles (about 30 km) below the floor of the western Pacific Ocean. The earthquake was caused by the rupture of a stretch of the subduction zone associated with the Japan Trench, which separates the Eurasian Plate from the subducting Pacific Plate. (Some geologists argue that this portion of the Eurasian Plate is actually a fragment of the North American Plate called the Okhotsk microplate.) A part of the subduction zone measuring approximately 190 miles (300 km) long by 95 miles (150 km) wide lurched as much as 164 feet (50 metres) to the east-southeast and thrust upward about 33 feet (10 metres). The March 11 temblor was felt as far away as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia; Kao-hsiung, Taiwan; and Beijing, China. It was preceded by several foreshocks, including a magnitude-7.2 event centred approximately 25 miles (40 km) away from the epicentre of the main quake. Hundreds of aftershocks, dozens of magnitude 6.0 or greater and two of magnitude 7.0 or greater, followed in the days and weeks after the main quake. (Nearly two years later, on December 7, 2012, a magnitude-7.3 tremor originated from the same plate boundary region. The quake caused no injuries and little damage.) The March 11, 2011, earthquake was the strongest to strike the region since the beginning of record keeping in the late 19th century, and it is considered one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. It was later reported that a satellite orbiting at the outer edge of Earth's atmosphere that day had detected infrasonics (very low-frequency sound waves) from the quake.

The sudden horizontal and vertical thrusting of the Pacific Plate, which has been slowly advancing under the Eurasian Plate near Japan, displaced the water above and spawned a series of highly destructive tsunami waves. A wave measuring some 33 feet high inundated the coast and flooded parts of the city of Sendai, including its airport and the surrounding countryside. According to some reports, one wave penetrated some 6 miles (10 km) inland after causing the Natori River, which separates Sendai from the city of Natori to the south, to overflow. Damaging tsunami waves struck the coasts of Iwate prefecture, just north of Miyagi prefecture, and Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Chiba, the prefectures extending along the Pacific coast south of Miyagi. In addition to Sendai, other communities hard-hit by the tsunami included Kamaishi and Miyako in Iwate; Ishinomaki, Kesennuma, and Shiogama in Miyagi; and Kitaibaraki and Hitachinaka in Ibaraki. As the floodwaters retreated back to the sea, they carried with them enormous quantities of debris, as well as thousands of victims caught in the deluge. Large stretches of land were left submerged under seawater, particularly in lower-lying areas.

The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific basin. The tsunami raced outward from the epicentre at speeds that approached about 500 miles (800 km) per hour. It generated waves 11 to 12 feet (3.3 to 3.6 metres) high along the coasts of Kauai and Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands chain and 5-foot (1.5-metre) waves along the island of Shemya in the Aleutian Islands chain. Several hours later 9-foot (2.7-metre) tsunami waves struck the coasts of California and Oregon in North America. Finally, some 18 hours after the quake, waves roughly 1 foot (0.3 metre) high reached the coast of Antarctica and caused a portion of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf to break off its outer edge.

Disasters of Historic Proportion

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Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 | Facts & Death Toll

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Japan earthquake and tsunami, severe natural disaster that occurred in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, and killed at least 20,000 people. The event began with a powerful earthquake off the coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, which initiated a series of large tsunami waves that devastated many coastal areas.

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I used this article from National Geographic to discover

The date of the earthquake

The number of people that died

The number of people that became homeless after the earthquake

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On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced the strongest earthquake in its recorded history.

Subjects

Earth Science, Oceanography, Geography, Physical Geography

On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced the strongest earthquake in its recorded history. The earthquake struck below the North Pacific, 130 kilometers (81 miles) east of Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region, a northern part of the island of Honshu.

The Tohoku earthquake caused a tsunami. A tsunami-Japanese for "harbor wave"-is a series of powerful waves caused by the displacement of a large body of water. Most tsunamis, like the one that formed off Tohoku, are triggered by underwater tectonic activity, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Tohoku tsunami produced waves up to 40 meters (132 feet) high, More than 450,000 people became homeless as a result of the tsunami. More than 15,500 people died. The tsunami also severely crippled the infrastructure of the country.

In addition to the thousands of destroyed homes, businesses, roads, and railways, the tsunami caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The Fukushima nuclear disaster released toxic, radioactive materials into the environment and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and businesses.

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National Geographic Society

Producer

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July 25, 2023

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On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced the strongest earthquake in its recorded history.

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From the article by Live Science I got

The cause of the earthquake

The number of people still in temporary accommodation

The name of the Earthquake

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The Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami or the Great Tohoku earthquake, was a natural disaster that shook northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster began when a magnitude-9 earthquake shook the region in the early afternoon, unleashing a savage tsunami.

The effects of the great earthquake, which was the strongest in Japan's recorded history, were felt around the world, from Norway's fjords to Antarctica's ice sheet. Tsunami debris has continued to wash up on North American beaches years later.

In Japan, residents are still recovering from the disaster. As of November 2021, there were still about 39,000 evacuees who lost their homes; 1,000 of them were still living in temporary housing, according to Japan's Reconstruction Agency.

More than 120,000 buildings were destroyed, 278,000 were half-destroyed and 726,000 were partially destroyed, according to the agency. The direct financial damage from the disaster is estimated to be about $199 billion dollars (about 16.9 trillion yen), according to the Japanese government. The total economic cost could reach up to $235 billion, the World Bank estimated, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history.
Related:

(Image credit: NOAA/NWS)

How Japan's 2011 Earthquake Happened
A surprise disaster

The unexpected disaster was neither the largest nor the deadliest earthquake and tsunami to strike this century. That record goes to the 2004 Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra, a magnitude-9.1, which killed more than 230,000 people. But Japan's one-two punch proved especially devastating for the earthquake-savvy country, because few scientists had predicted the country would experience such a large earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's scientists had forecast a smaller earthquake would strike the northern region of Honshu, the country's main island. Nor did they expect such a large tsunami. But there had been hints of the disaster to come. The areas flooded in 2011 closely matched those of a tsunami that hit Sendai in A.D. 869. In the decade before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a handful of Japanese geologists had begun to recognize that a large earthquake and tsunami had struck the northern Honshu region in that year. However, their warnings went unheeded by officials responsible for the country's earthquake hazard assessments, Live Science previously reported. Now, tsunami experts from around the world have been asked to assess the history of past tsunamis in Japan, to better predict the country's future earthquake risk.

(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

"For big earthquakes, the tsunami is going to be the big destructive factor," said Vasily Titov, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle, Washington told Live Science. "But if the nation is prepared, warning and education definitely saves lives. Compare the human lives lost in Sumatra and Japan. It's about 10 times less."

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake

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 crust. The great 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 recent study found.

The March 11 earthquake started on a Friday at 2:46 p.m. local time (5:46 a.m. UTC). It was centered on the seafloor 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Tohoku, at a depth of 15 miles (24 km) below the surface. The shaking lasted about six minutes.

Scientists drilled into the subduction zone soon after the earthquake and discovered a thin, slippery clay layer lining the fault, according to a 2013 study in the journal Science. The researchers think that this clay layer allowed the two plates to slide an incredible distance, some 164 feet (50 meters), facilitating the enormous earthquake and tsunami.

Early warning

Residents of Tokyo received a minute of warning before the strong shaking hit the city, thanks to Japan's earthquake early warning system. The country's stringent seismic building codes and early warning system prevented many deaths from the earthquake, by stopping high-speed trains and factory assembly lines. People in Japan also received texted alerts of the earthquake and tsunami warnings on their cellphones.

Death toll of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami

The number of confirmed deaths is 19,747 as of December, 2021, according to the reconstruction agency. More than 2,500 people are still reported missing.

Less than an hour after the earthquake, the first of many tsunami waves hit Japan's coastline. The tsunami waves reached run-up heights (how far the wave surges inland above sea level) of up to 128 feet (39 meters) at Miyako city and traveled inland as far as 6 miles (10 km) in Sendai. The tsunami flooded an estimated area of approximately 217 square miles (561 square kilometers) in Japan, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .

The waves overtopped and destroyed protective tsunami seawalls at several locations. The massive surge destroyed three-story buildings where people had gathered for safety. Near Oarai, the tsunami generated a huge whirlpool offshore, captured on video.

The Fukushima nuclear meltdown

The tsunami caused a cooling system failure at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which resulted in a level-7 nuclear meltdown and release of radioactive materials. The electrical power and backup generators were overwhelmed by the tsunami, and the plant lost its cooling capabilities.

"Fukushima was created by the tsunami. The earthquake was not a factor," Titov said. "Fukushima was designed for a tsunami smaller than the one we saw."

(Image credit: Patrick Corcoran, Oregon State University)

Very low levels of radioactive chemicals that leaked from Fukushima have been detected along the North American coast offshore Canada and California. Trace amounts of cesium-134 and cesium-137 (radioactive isotopes) were found in seawater collected in 2014 and 2015, Live Science reported at the time.

The response

In the tsunami's aftermath, Japan's Meteorological Agency was criticized for issuing an initial tsunami warning that underestimated the size of the wave. In some regions, such as Miyagi and Fukushima, only 58% of people headed for higher ground immediately after the earthquake, according to a Japanese government study published in August 2011. Many people also underestimated their personal risk, or assumed the tsunami would be as small as ones they had previously experienced, the study found.

Scientists from around the world descended on Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. Researchers sailed offshore and dropped sensors along the fault line to measure the forces that caused the earthquake. Teams studied the tsunami deposits to better understand ancient sediment records of the deadly waves. Earthquake engineers examined the damage, looking for ways to build buildings more resistant to quakes and tsunamis.

"The tsunami itself died out a long time ago, but the effects in Japan will be there for decades," Titov told Live Science.

Worldwide effects
Related: Weird Earth Movement After Japan Earthquake Finally Explained
The tsunami waves also traveled across the Pacific, reaching Alaska, Hawaii and Chile. In Chile, some 11,000 miles (17,000 km) distant, the tsunami was 6.6 feet (2 meters) high when they reached the shore, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The surge of water carried an estimated 5 million tons of debris out to sea, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency reported. Japanese docks and ships, and countless household items, have arrived on U.S. and Canadian shores in the ensuing years. The U.S. Coast Guard fired on and sank the derelict boat 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru in 2012 in the Gulf of Alaska. The ship started its journey in Hokkaido.

The earthquake shifted Earth on its axis of rotation by redistributing mass, like putting a dent in a spinning top. The temblor also shortened the length of a day by about a microsecond.

More than 5,000 aftershocks hit Japan in the year after the earthquake, the largest a magnitude 7.9.

About 250 miles (400 km) of Japan's northern Honshu coastline dropped by 2 feet (0.6 meters), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The jolt moved Japan's main island of Honshu eastward by 8 feet (2.4 m).

The Pacific Plate slid westward near the epicenter by 79 feet (24 m).

In Antarctica, the seismic waves from the earthquake sped up the Whillans Ice Stream, jolting it by about 1.5 feet (0.5 m).

The tsunami broke icebergs off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

As the tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean, a 5-foot high (1.5 m) high wave killed more than 110,000 nesting seabirds at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

In Norway, water in fjords pointing toward Japan sloshed back and forth as seismic waves from the earthquake raced through.

The earthquake produced a low-frequency rumble called infrasound, which traveled into space and was detected by the Goce satellite.

Buildings destroyed by the tsunami released thousands of tons of ozone-destroying chemicals and greenhouse gases into the air.

Amazing facts

Here are some of the amazing facts about the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Additional resources

Bibliography

Vasily Titov, Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle, Washington.

"Status of Reconstruction and Reconstruction Efforts." Japan Reconstruction Agency, Dec. 2021. https://www.reconstruction.go.jp/english/

P.M. Fulton et al. "Low Coseismic Friction on the Tohoku-Oki Fault Determined from Temperature Measurements," Science, Vol 342, Dec. 2013. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1243641
This article was updated Feb. 11, 2022 by Live Science Senior Writer Brandon Specktor.
NOAA/ National Weather Service U.S. Tsunami Warning System. https://www.tsunami.gov/

Japan Tsunami Marine Debris. NOAA Marine Debris Program. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/disaster-debris/japan-tsunami-marine-debris

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Japan Earthquake & Tsunami of 2011: Facts and Information

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The Great Tohoku earthquake destroyed more than 100,000 buildings and triggered a nuclear disaster.