Near Sendai , flood waters penetrated 10 kilometers 6 miles inland. According to the U. The tsunami affected a kilometer stretch of coast and inundated more than square kilometers of land in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures.
Some of the worst devastation was observed at Rikuzentakata Iwate. The images combine infrared, red, and green wavelengths of light to make false-color images that distinguish between water, vegetation, and urban infrastructure. In the image, most of the areas in purple-blue were flooded or denuded.
The March tsunami killed more than 1, residents about 8 percent of the population of Rikuzentakata and destroyed 80 percent of its residential areas. More than 70, trees in the Takatamatsubara pine forest on the waterfront—planted in the 17th century as a tidewater control—were washed away. Flood waters sat for weeks on rice paddies and other agricultural land. Satellites captured scenes of the devastation just one day and three days after the event.
A decade later, the area is still rebuilding. Engineers and construction crews also carried in massive amounts of soil and rock to raise the level of the land by 10 meters before new buildings were constructed.
According to the Japan Reconstruction Agency, nearly , buildings were destroyed or irreparably damaged and another , were partially destroyed across the country in March Nearly 16, people were killed and 2, are still listed as missing. 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. The number of confirmed deaths is 15, as of June 10, , according to the reconstruction agency. More than 2, 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 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 square miles square kilometers in Japan.
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 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.
The earthquake was not a factor," Titov said. 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 and cesium radioactive isotopes were found in seawater collected in and In the tsunami's aftermath, Japan's Meteorological Agency was criticized for issuing an initial tsunami warning that underestimated the size of the wave.
The country recently unveiled a newly installed, upgraded tsunami warning system. In some regions, such as Miyagi and Fukushima, only 58 percent of people headed for higher ground immediately after the earthquake, according to a Japanese government study published in August 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. Dunbar, and N. Arcos Honolulu: International Tsunami Information Center. Satake, K. On an idyllic Monday night in , the palm-lined coasts of the American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga Islands looked peaceful and. On July 17, , a 7. But the terror. Tsunamis—huge ocean waves generated by sudden movements in the seafloor, landslides, or volcanic activity—have killed hundreds.
How It Happened The event resulted from thrust faulting on the subduction zone plate boundary between the Pacific and North America plates, according to the U. High Costs In Japan, the event resulted in the total destruction of more than , houses and damage to almost a million more. From Peril to Preparedness To learn from the tragedy in Japan, researchers collected extensive data on tsunami wave forces and building performance. References Kong, L. Published March 11, Tsunami Sources Poster.
Article Tags Tsunamis.
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