March 11, 2011

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011. The quake hit off the coast of Honshu, roughly 230 miles northeast of Tokyo. It triggered a 30-foot tsunami wave that swept away boats, cars, homes, and took thousands of lives. The tsunami was followed by more than 50 aftershocks, many of which were 6.0-magnitude or higher. The death toll is now over 14,000 and rising everyday, with over 5,000 injured and roughly 11,000 people still missing.

125,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed. The quake caused extensive structural damage to Japan, including heavy damage to railways and roads, as well as fires in many areas. Over 4 million households were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water. This was the most powerful earthquake in Japanese history. The quake moved Honshu 7.9 feet east, and shifted the Earth on it's axis roughly 3.9 inches. Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said, "In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan." The Japanese government said the cost of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast could reach $309 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster on record.

A significant problem the earthquake created were the nuclear power plant meltdown threats. Japan declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of Friday's powerful earthquake. Nuclear plants need power to operate motors, valves, and instruments that control the systems that provide cooling water to the radioactive core. The power was shutdown due to the quake, and about an hour after the plant shut down, the emergency diesel generators stopped, leaving the units with no power for cooling, similar to what happened in the Chernobyl incident. Thousands of residents were evacuated as workers struggled to get the reactors under control to prevent meltdowns. The plants began venting radioactive vapors from the unit to relieve pressure inside the reactor. It is rumored that experts have downplayed the trace amounts of radiation that were released into the atmosphere around the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Sources:
MSNBC. (2011). Meltdown possible at Japan nuclear power plant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42025882/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

USGS. (2011). Earthquake details.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/

Huffington Post. (2011). Japan Earthquake 2011: 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 30-Foot Tsunami Triggered.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html