The Earthquake and tsunami in Japan

1. Tell me all about the recent natural disaster in Japan: 

• Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?
• What was the size of the earthquake?
• What are some of the areas most effected? Describe the devastation and include an image.
• Describe the impending man-made disaster: what, where , why? 

 The epicenter of the earthquake was 130 kilometers off the east coast of the Oshika peninsula, Tohoku.

The size of the earthquake was 8.9 magnitude and there was also multiple aftershocks. A magnitude 7.0 aftershock was reported at 15:06 local time, 7.4 at 15:15 local time and 7.2 at 15:26 local time.

The most effected area was sendai and all down the west coast of japan which was destroyed by the tsunami but other towns and cities like fukushima, ibaraki, and tochigi were also majorly effected by the earthquake. The devastation it caused was huge,the tsunami killed hundreds of people and turned the northeastern coast into a swampy wasteland. The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area near the quake's epicenter. An untold number of bodies were also believed to be lying in the rubble and debris.

Onagaw nuclear powerplant, Fukushima 1, fukushima 11, andtokai nuclear power stations were automatically shut down following the earthquake higshidori , also on the northeast coast, was already shut down for a periodic inspection. However, cooling is needed to remove decay heat for several days even when a plant has been shut down.