Comprehensive Report: 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Impacts

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, focusing on its multifaceted impacts. It details the economic consequences, including financial losses and impacts on Japan's GDP, and explores the environmental damage, such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster and its long-term effects. The report also examines the psychological and social impacts on the affected population, including PTSD and societal disruptions. Furthermore, it outlines the measures undertaken by Japan to mitigate future disasters, emphasizing policy changes and technological advancements. The study draws from various sources to offer a well-rounded understanding of the disaster's effects and the country's response, culminating in a discussion of the lessons learned and the path toward recovery and resilience. The report also highlights the importance of understanding the recurrence of such events and the need for preparedness.

Running head: EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI
2011 Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s name

1Earthquake and Tsunami
Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Impact on economy......................................................................................................................4
Environmental impact..................................................................................................................5
Psychological impact...................................................................................................................6
Social impact...............................................................................................................................7
Measures undertaken by Japan for future disasters.....................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

2Earthquake and Tsunami
Introduction
The 2011 earthquake off Tohuku's Pacific Coast has been reported as being 9.0
magnitudes below shore. This was allegedly a mega thrust earthquake off Japan's coast in 2011,
on Friday 11 March. This earthquake is the most dominant earthquake reported in Japan's
history1. However, it is the fourth greatest dominant earthquake in the world since the magnitude
reporting started in 1900 with a seismograph. This is because of the earthquake's high magnitude
that strong tsunami waves were recorded up to 133 feet in height. The tsunami engulfed the
Japanese mainland and killed more than 10,000 people, primarily by flooding, but several
fatalities were caused by blunt trauma too. The Japanese National Police Agency's new survey
reveals 6,157 casualties, 15,899 deaths and 2,529 people are misplaced across twenty
prefectures2. A 2015 survey showed that 228,863 residents either lived in temporary
accommodation or because of permanent relocation3. Hence, upon understanding the economic,
environmental, psychological and social impact of the earthquake and the tsunami, a
comprehensive report must be structured such that higher knowledge is acquired. In addition,
after the incident have been wreaking havoc in the nation after the earthquake and the tsunami,
Japan has been taking measures for the rectification of the damages caused and changing the
policies such that a reformed country with advanced technologies are present and future
incidences are avoided.
1Suppasri, Anawat, PanonLatcharote, Jeremy D. Bricker, Natt Leelawat, Akihiro Hayashi, Kei Yamashita, Fumiyasu Makinoshima, Volker
Roeber, and Fumihiko Imamura. 2016. "Improvement Of Tsunami Countermeasures Based On Lessons From The 2011 Great East Japan
Earthquake And Tsunami — Situation After Five Years". Coastal Engineering Journal 58 (4): 1640011-1-1640011-30.
2Morino, Kazuma. 2017. "Hospital Surge Capacity In The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake And Tsunami". Prehospital And Disaster
Medicine 32 (S1): S125. DOI: 10.1017/s1049023x17003545.
3Morino, Kazuma. 2017. "Hospital Surge Capacity In The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake And Tsunami". Prehospital And Disaster
Medicine 32 (S1): S125. DOI: 10.1017/s1049023x17003545.

3Earthquake and Tsunami
This mega thrust earthquake was a reappearance of the previous 869 Sanriku earthquake
system measured to be at least 8.4 Mw in magnitude, which had produced a massive tsunami that
inundated the Sendai plain4. Within the Holocene series of the plain, three tsunami deposits have
been found, both formed during the last 3,000 years, indicating a recurrence period of 800 to
1,100 years for major tsunamigenic earthquakes. It was determined in 2001 that there was a high
possibility of a monstrous tsunami arriving at the Sendai plain since over 1,100 years had passed
by at that point. In 2007, the probability of an Mw 8.1–8.3 extent of tremulous earthquake was
assessed at 99 percent for the following 30 years5. This earthquake happened under the crust
underneath northern Honshu where the Pacific Crust is sub ducting. The Pacific plate, ascending
at a pace of 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in.) every year, plunges under the fundamental layer of Honshu,
making enormous amounts of elastic or flexible strength. The motion forces down the upper
plate until the accumulated tension induce an occurrence of seismic slip-rupture. The split
triggered a multiple meter rise in the seafloor. A quake of this magnitude commonly has at any
rate 500 km (310 mi) of break length and regularly incorporates a long, genuinely straight fault
sheet. Since as far as possible and sub duction zone in the zone of the Honshu break is not
astoundingly straight, it is odd for the significance of its tremor to outperform 8.5 Mw; the size
of this shake was an astonishment to specific seismologists. The hypocentral region of this
seismic tremor loosened up from offshore Iwate Prefecture to toward the ocean Ibaraki
Prefecture. The Japanese Meteorological Agency said that the seismic tremor may have perhaps
split the insufficiency zone from Iwate to Ibaraki with a width of 200 km (120 mi) and length of
500 km (310 mi). The examination demonstrated that this quake comprised of a lot of three
4Hikichi, H., J. Aida, K. Kondo, T. Tsuboya, and I. Kawachi. 2019. "Residential Relocation And Obesity After A Natural Disaster: A Natural
Experiment From The 2011 Japan Earthquake And Tsunami". Scientific Reports 9 (1): e1700426. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36906-y.
5Hikichi, H., J. Aida, K. Kondo, T. Tsuboya, and I. Kawachi. 2019. "Residential Relocation And Obesity After A Natural Disaster: A Natural
Experiment From The 2011 Japan Earthquake And Tsunami". Scientific Reports 9 (1): e1700426. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36906-y.

4Earthquake and Tsunami
occasions. Other serious seismic tremors with tidal waves struck the Sanriku Coast district in
1896 and 1933.
Impact on economy
The prompt harm from Japan's tremor and tsunami has been stuffed in the northerly zone
of the country, some good ways from Japan's cutting edge place. The fiscal and budgetary effects
are spreading through the East Asian locale, the Japanese economy, and also may affect
associations and benefactors in the United States and other countries. The effect of the record 9.0
seismic tremor was reinforced by the accompanying tsunami that cleared similarly as 6 miles
inland in Japan, causing wide destruction, and that spread out over the Pacific. It caused
innumerable dollars of harm in Hawaii, as much as $40 million in harm in California, and a large
number of dollars of harm basically to harbors and vessels in Oregon. Japan's monetary
development, effectively anaemic in light of the worldwide downturn in 2008-2009, is relied
upon to drop into negative region for a quarter or two however turn positive again as the
emergency passes and revamping initiates6. More the economic assessments are conducted for
Japan after it had sustained the dangerous impact of the high magnitude earthquake and the
subsequent tsunami more is the review of the collateral damage that is being identified and
rectified. Japan was previously known as the third largest economy in the whole wide world. The
GDP of the nation was accounted for to be around $5.5 trillion which is 8.7 percent of the global
GDP7.As the scale of the destruction becomes clearer, projections are becoming gloomier for
Japan's economic growth. The original estimate was that the catastrophe would cut off overall
6Yoshino, Naoyuki, and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary. 2015. "Effectiveness Of The Easing Of Monetary Policy In The Japanese Economy,
Incorporating Energy Prices." Journal Of Comparative Asian Development 14 (2): 227-248.
7Valizadeh, Pourya, BernaKarali, and Susana Ferreira. 2017. "Ripple Effects Of The 2011 Japan Earthquake On International Stock
Markets". Research In International Business And Finance 41: 556-576.

5Earthquake and Tsunami
GDP growth by 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points in 2011, but growth would still be around 1 percent8.
By 23 March, IHS Global Insight's estimation of growth in 2011 was 0.5% with restoration in
2012, growing to about 3.5%. However, the financial analysts in the country had structured that
the nation will fall into recession just after the disaster because of the frequency and faster
rebuilding of the country. It is after this that the economy may begin to boom again because of
the activity of rebuilding9.
Environmental impact
Collective damage was found in the area, contributing to the earthquake and resulting
tsunami in Japan. The physical damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been
overshadowing the devastation created by pollution and the loss of materials and soil. The
subsequent exposure from radiation found its way across the Pacific to reach South America!
The surface of the ocean acted as a highly powerful mode of transport for hazardous waste and
other materials10. This nuclear accident has long left regions surrounding it inhabitable. In the
case of Tohoku, the magnitude of environmental degradation has the ability to overshadow the
more localized physical damage. The overall volume of waste calculated for cleaning up was
between 80 and 200 million tons and cost around USD 3.2 billion. The lack of land also raised
the cost of waste management in Japan after a tragedy11. When seawater penetrates well inland,
land salinity and therefore, it is likely to impact the agricultural production and consistency of
shallow groundwater. The municipal water supply and sanitation networks have resulted in
8Valizadeh, Pourya, BernaKarali, and Susana Ferreira. 2017. "Ripple Effects Of The 2011 Japan Earthquake On International Stock
Markets". Research In International Business And Finance 41: 556-576.
9Kawawaki, Yasuo. "Economic analysis of population migration factors caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami." Review of
Urban & Regional Development Studies 30, no. 1 (2018): 44-65.
10Katsumi, Takeshi. 2015. "Soil Excavation And Reclamation In Civil Engineering: Environmental Aspects." Soil Science And Plant
Nutrition 61 (sup1): 22-29.
11Uehara, Misato, Tadayoshi Inoue, and Gen Shintaku. 2015. "The Favorable Settlement Relocation Process After The 2011 Earthquake And
Tsunami Disaster In Japan By Evaluating Site Environments And Accessibility". International Review For Spatial Planning And Sustainable
Development 3 (1): 119-130.

6Earthquake and Tsunami
cross-contamination which has resulted in public health impacts. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant was shut down due to the risk of radiation waste after the earthquake struck.
According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimation, losses of more than 110,000 Laysan
Albatross chicks are being identified by Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Besides, more
than thousands of fish and Bonin petrels were washed ashore because of which they had
suffocated and died12. The managers had taken the initiative to safeguard some of the animals
during the onset of the tsunami; however, this is a very small effort as compared to what was
required. It is heartening to watch the devastating damage that had been sustained by the wildlife
community and can be estimated that a great amount of time will be required for the coastal and
marine ecosystems to redevelop to their best potential. The impact on wildlife was mainly
observed in the mainland and worse in the islands.
Psychological impact
While symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to the Great East Japan
Earthquake tend to have changed over time, there is evidence of recurrent depression issues,
reports the research by Dr. Shuntaro Ando of Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Science Institute and
colleagues13. Their results identify different regions and classes of victims of accidents that could
be especially in need of long-term mental health assistance. Dr. Ando and colleagues identified
and examined 42 research papers on the nature, extent and incidence of mental health disorders
in disaster-affected areas to determine the mental health effects of the Great East Japan
Earthquake14. The study included research on patterns over time in mental health disorders as
12Horiguchi, Toshihiro, Hiroshi Yoshii, Satoshi Mizuno, and Hiroaki Shiraishi. "Decline in intertidal biota after the 2011 Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster: field observations." Scientific reports 6, no. 1 (2016): 1-12.
13Sone, Toshimasa, Naoki Nakaya, Yumi Sugawara, Yasutake Tomata, Takashi Watanabe, and Ichiro Tsuji. 2016. "Longitudinal Association
Between Time-Varying Social Isolation And Psychological Distress After The Great East Japan Earthquake." Social Science & Medicine, 152:
96-101.
14Okazumi, Toshio, and Tadashi Nakasu. 2015. "Lessons Learned From Two Unprecedented Disasters In 2011 – Great East Japan Earthquake
And Tsunami In Japan And Chao Phraya River Flood In Thailand". International Journal Of Disaster Risk Reduction 13: 200-206.

7Earthquake and Tsunami
well as risk factors for experiencing these issues. The prevalence of PTSD was ten per cent or
higher in all research that analyzed posttraumatic symptoms. Depression and infant development
disorders have also been identified regularly— but figures have ranged significantly due to the
use of multiple tests and cut-off points. Posttraumatic stress conditions appeared to change, or in
any case not to get worse, in research that examined changes in mental health issues over time.
Because of the high intensity earthquake and a short-time activated tsunami resulted in panic
among the citizens and people residing near the shore where the tsunami first struck15. The
trauma that had been sustained by the individuals is great and require constant counselling from
the best counsellors such that the health condition of the individuals is improved.
Social impact
Conversely, signs of depression appear to continue during follow-up. Risk factors for
mental health disorders included everyday life migration, pre-existing disability and limited scale
of the social network. The reported incidence of post-traumatic stress reactions was greater in the
prefecture of Fukushima, where the affected nuclear power plant was located.
It is estimated that some 450,000 people assemble in emergency shelters four days after
the tragedy. The government will want to construct temporary housing as soon as possible,
because many of them lost their homes. However, considering the degree of destruction, this will
be a difficult challenge because people would need to move to places not close to where they
used to live. Since of the controlled blackout, JR, subway lines and private train companies run
restricted services, and people outside Tokyo usually find it impossible to fly about 50
kilometres today16. In that capacity, there are those organizations and schools that are making
15Sakuma, Atsushi, Yoko Takahashi, Ikki Ueda, Hirotoshi Sato, Masahiro Katsura, Mikika Abe, Ayami Nagao et al. "Post-traumatic stress
disorder and depression prevalence and associated risk factors among local disaster relief and reconstruction workers fourteen months after the
Great East Japan Earthquake: a cross-sectional study." BMC psychiatry 15, no. 1 (2015): 58.
16Tsuchiya, Naho, Naoki Nakaya, Tomohiro Nakamura, Akira Narita, Mana Kogure, Jun Aida, Ichiro Tsuji, Atsushi Hozawa, and Hiroaki
Tomita. 2016. "Impact Of Social Capital On Psychological Distress And Interaction With House Destruction And Displacement After The Great

8Earthquake and Tsunami
their workers remain at home or shutting for time being. In any event, for those driving, oversaw
power outage is halting escalators and lifts in structures and that is making their transportation
even more excruciating. Because of the theory that preparing nourishment under oversaw power
outage will be troublesome, preservatory nourishments immediately vanished from the racks in
markets and comfort stores. Indeed, even in the focal piece of Tokyo, individuals are seen
making lines before markets open and it is presently taking over 30 minutes only for paying for
buys. Simultaneously, individuals show up avoiding crisp nourishments for the above
explanation and the Tsukiji fish showcase looks extremely quiet thinking about how dynamic it
normally is. There was an immense damage observed in terms of social context which was
caused by the 2011 earthquake. The number of deaths that have been reported are approximately
19,000 in which majority was observed because of drowning due to the incidence of tsunami.
One of the major challenges that the survivors had faced during that time is the act of surviving
through the adversities that have been presented to them because of the earthquake and the
tsunami. More than 500,000 of the total populace were left homeless because of the high
magnitude of the earthquake which crumbled building structures and the tsunami in which some
of the houses were washed away. Hence, the individuals did not have access to clean water or
substantial amount of electricity.
Measures undertaken by Japan for future disasters
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami tragedy left many things to be learnt
on Japan's efforts to handle disasters. As a result, they have been dramatically changed to
facilitate national resilience-building programs with the goal of developing stable and protected
East Japan Earthquake Of 2011". Psychiatry And Clinical Neurosciences 71 (1): 52-60.

9Earthquake and Tsunami
national territories, regions and economic community with power and stability in any
catastrophe17. For disaster-affected zones, the focal government has changed strategies of coastal
front assurance from the perspective of lessening dangers and upgrading catastrophe versatility,
and neighbourhood governments have finished drafting remaking plans including foundation
structure, transportation, land-use management, urban structure, and movement, financial and
mechanical standpoints. In April 2011, one month after the occasion happened, the focal
government built up the Reconstruction Policy Council to build up a national recuperation and
remaking standpoint for tidal wave versatile networks. Additionally, the focal government chose
a strategy of coastal front assurance, for example, seawalls and breakwaters, which would be
intended to guarantee their presentation to a potential tsunami level of up to the roughly
multiyear repeat interim18. A noteworthy change in perspective in seaside assurance approaches
is on seawall plan. The exercise learned was that coastal foundation, for example, sea walls and
breakwaters cannot generally secure life and property: even incredible seawalls can fall flat.
Seawalls ought to be structured with the suspicion of overtopping and devastation, and networks
ought not to depend on coastal front frameworks alone for assurance. Prior as far as possible of
2011, the Japanese parliament had passed laws to build up "torrent safe urban communities".
This included improving exploration and instruction, departure preparing and measures to
forestall or alleviate the impact of tidal waves in the long haul. The administration additionally
dedicated 25.5 trillion yen (£158bn) toward an extreme, five-year time of modifying19. The
ground floor of destinations for new houses needs to be elevated in various areas before
construction can begin. For instance, the ground level was increased by around 10 m in the port
17Iuchi, Kanako, Elizabeth Maly, and Laurie Johnson. "Three years after a mega-disaster: recovery policies, programs and implementation after
the Great East Japan Earthquake." In Post-Tsunami Hazard, pp. 29-46. Springer, Cham, 2015.
18Okamoto, Nahoko, Chieko Greiner, and Godfred Paul. "Lesson and learned from the older people in case of Great East Japan Earthquake and
Tsunami of 2011." Proc Eng 107 (2015): 133-139.
19Nateghi, Roshanak, Jeremy D. Bricker, Seth D. Guikema, and Akane Bessho. "Statistical analysis of the effectiveness of seawalls and coastal
forests in mitigating tsunami impacts in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures." PloS one 11, no. 8 (2016).

10Earthquake and Tsunami
town of Rikuzentakata, and two defensive 3 m and 12.5 m high seawalls are being built. Private
homes will be relocated to elevated ground somewhere else, areas will be created behind
defensive walls, and woods planted. The Miyagi Prefecture plans to strengthen the coast for
tsunami defense with a tall seawall a few kilometers high20. Both these steps take time, and
others have split their opinions: some people don't want to relocate from the coastal strip, but
they don't want to see their opinions infringed by a wall.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it could be understood that the life of the people after experiencing a high
magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami was not easy. The earthquake experienced by
the citizens of the country resulted in extensive losses because of which there has been an
increasing incidence of revenue loss and physical damage to properties. A quake of this
magnitude typically has at least 500 km (310 mi) of rupture length and normally includes a long,
fairly straight fault sheet. The impact of the record 9.0 seismic tremor was strengthened by the
following tsunami that cleared equally as 6 miles inland in Japan, causing broad demolition, and
that spread out over the Pacific. It caused countless dollars of damage in Hawaii, as much as $40
million in damage in California, and a great many dollars of damage essentially to harbors and
vessels in Oregon. When seawater penetrates well inland, land salinity and therefore, it is likely
to impact the agricultural production and consistency of shallow groundwater. The municipal
water supply and sanitation networks have resulted in cross-contamination which has resulted in
public health impacts. Because of the high intensity of the earthquake and the tsunami, it is
20Matsunami, T., H. Saito, R. Otani, H. Sekiya, Y. Shinoto, H. Kanmuri, S. Nakayama et al. "Cultivation of late-planted soybean with narrow-
row and dense-sowing using chisel plow and grain drill to manage reclaimed farmland damaged by the tsunami after The Great East Japan
Earthquake in Miyagi prefecture." 日日日日日日日日 (2017).

11Earthquake and Tsunami
crucial for the Japanese government to step up their measures such that future incidences are
avoided.
References
Hikichi, H., J. Aida, K. Kondo, T. Tsuboya, and I. Kawachi. 2019. "Residential Relocation And
Obesity After A Natural Disaster: A Natural Experiment From The 2011 Japan Earthquake And
Tsunami". Scientific Reports 9 (1): e1700426.
Horiguchi, Toshihiro, Hiroshi Yoshii, Satoshi Mizuno, and Hiroaki Shiraishi. "Decline in
intertidal biota after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and the Fukushima
nuclear disaster: field observations." Scientific reports 6, no. 1 (2016): 1-12.
Iuchi, Kanako, Elizabeth Maly, and Laurie Johnson. "Three years after a mega-disaster: recovery
policies, programs and implementation after the Great East Japan Earthquake." In Post-Tsunami
Hazard, pp. 29-46. Springer, Cham, 2015.
Katsumi, Takeshi. 2015. "Soil Excavation And Reclamation In Civil Engineering:
Environmental Aspects." Soil Science And Plant Nutrition 61 (sup1): 22-29.
Kawawaki, Yasuo. "Economic analysis of population migration factors caused by the Great East
Japan Earthquake and tsunami." Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies 30, no. 1
(2018): 44-65.
Matsunami, T., H. Saito, R. Otani, H. Sekiya, Y. Shinoto, H. Kanmuri, S. Nakayama et al.
"Cultivation of late-planted soybean with narrow-row and dense-sowing using chisel plow and
grain drill to manage reclaimed farmland damaged by the tsunami after The Great East Japan
Earthquake in Miyagi prefecture." 日日日日日日日日 (2017).