At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 (out of 10) struck the coast of Japan; the strongest earthquake ever recorded anywhere in the country. The earthquake hit off the shore of Honshu, which is the most populous island in all of Japan. The earthquake not only produced an aftershock, with a magnitude of 7.4, but it also churned up a tsunami. A tsunami is a large underwater earthquake, tsunamis can travel over 800 kilometers per hour causing waves sometimes up to 12 feet. These two things together caused trains to shut down, air travel to be severely disrupted, ships carrying over 100 people to be swept away, and power black outs across the country. The tsunami caused panic throughout Japan, the nuclear power plants and reactors were shut down in time, but because the reactors were still hot when the water reached them, the water became contaminated with radiation endangering the people of Japan; when the water continued to move throughout Japan, the contaminated water went with it. This caused a nuclear emergency across the country.
The damage in Japan was far worse than anyone had first thought. In total 2,126 roads and 56 bridges were harmed, it was estimated that 245,000 people were in shelters, 243,000 homes were without power, and 720,000 homes were without clean water. After the earthquake, aftershock, tsunami, and nuclear emergency on March 11, 14,755 people were counted dead, 5,279 people were injured, and 10,706 people are still missing from their homes. Although the damage in Japan was great, more countries than just Japan are worried about the impact it will have on their own countries and even more, economies.
Fackler, Martin. "Huge Earthquake and Tsunami Strike Japan." International Herald Tribune. SIRS Researcher. Web. 09 May 2011.
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