(REUTERS)

Images courtesy of the US Geological Survey

Magnitude 9.0 NEAR
THE EAST COAST
OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Friday, March 11,
2011 at 05:46:23
UTC
The earthquake
occurred 130
km (80 miles)
east of Sendai
and 373 km
(231 miles)
northeast of
Tokyo.

This is one of the largest earthquakes
that Japan has ever experienced.
Part of houses
swallowed by tsunami
burn in Sendai, Miyagi
Prefecture (state)
after Japan was
struck by a strong
earthquake off its
northeastern coast
Friday, March 11,
2011.

New York Times
In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently. Elsewhere
severe flooding occurred due to a tsunami generated by the
earthquake.
Tsunami waves
swept away
houses and cars in
northern Japan
and pushed ships
aground.


The earthquake caused some damage
but the tsunami was devastating

The tsunami waves
traveled far inland,
the wave of debris
racing across the
farmland, carrying
boats and houses
with it.
CNN reported The quake rattled
buildings and toppled cars off bridges
and into waters underneath. Waves of
debris flowed like lava across farmland,
pushing boats, houses and trailers
toward highways.

A number of fires broke out including
one at an oil refinery which was burning
out of control.
Giant fireballs rise from a burning oil
refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture
(state) after Japan was struck by a
strong earthquake off its northeastern
coast Friday, March 11, 2011.

Los Angeles Times

Fires after earthquakes are often caused by broken gas pipelines
Lets take a look at tsunami as it hits the
east coast of Japan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-
pacific-12725646

Globally, this is the 5
th
largest earthquake
since 1900 (or 4
th
depends on M).
7.8
8
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
9
9.2
9.4
9.6
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
M
a
g
n
i
t
u
d
e

Year
Great (M > 8) Earthquakes Since 1900
Chile1906
Chile 1960
Alaska 1964
Sumatra 2004
Chile 2010
Japan 2011
Russia 1952
Ecuador 1906
Alaska 1965
What is a Tsunami?
(harbor wave)
Seismic sea waves (NOT tidal waves)
Large ocean wave or series of ocean waves
generated by an earthquake, volcanic eruption,
submarine landslide or meteor impact
How do EQs cause a tsunami?
http://geology.com/articles/tsunami-geology.shtml
http://sese.asu.edu/teacher-resources

Unless there is an underwater landslide, strike-
slip EQ WILL NOT cause tsunami
Most tsunami generated by subduction zones
Chile
Alaska
Japan
Cascadia
Philippines
Caribbean
New Zealand
Long wavelengths (over 100 km)
Travel at high speeds : 450 to 650 mph
316,800 ft = 60 miles
Nearby the
earthquake there
are only minutes
to evacuate.
However, in many
other regions
there is advance
warning.
How long before
the tsunami
reaches Los
Angeles?

Projected travel times for the arrival of
tsunami waves across the Pacific
What happens when tsunami
gets near shore?
Tsunami slows down (shallower water)
Wave gets taller
As wave gets into shallow water bottom of
wave drags along ocean floor
Top of wave still moving fast: causes
cresting of wave, and breaking onto shore
Receding of coastal waters ( 5 - 15 minutes before
the strike ).

Approaching tsunamis are almost always
heralded by a noticeable fall of coastal
waters.
Water may recede several hundreds of
meters. If you are on the beach, and you
see water suddenly receding, exposing
the ocean floor, it means that you have
minutes before the tsunami strikes.
What do you do?


Lets take a look at what Japan looks like
before and after

http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/jap
an-quake-2011/

Pressure recorder on
bottom of ocean
Buoy to communicate
readings via satellite
Tsunami Warning
Centers issue warning

Hawaii and Alaska
When EQ considered capable of
generating tsunami, send warning with
estimated arrival time
Once tsunami hits
somewhere, tsunami
watch established to
monitor tide gauges
and ocean buoys

Tsunami Monitoring Systems
Locations of NOAAs National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) DART stations comprising the operational network.
When warning is issued low lying
areas are evacuated
U.S. Coast guard issues warnings over
marine frequencies
Some places have sirens