Tsunami in Japan March 2011

Background Japan is located in a geologically unstable

part of the world and was well-prepared for an earthquake.

Japan sits on the North American tectonic plate, which wraps up and around the Pacific plate. The Pacific plate moves about 3.5 inches a year and dives under the North American plate. Pressure builds up between the plates and can be released in one big movement, causing an earthquake.

Friday March 11, 2011 On Friday, March 11, at 2:45 in the afternoon,

the ground shook with such force that houses crumpled and power went out, sending people rushing into the streets. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake also triggered a tsunami: a towering wave in the ocean that rushed in and swept away small towns along the coast.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, “In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan."

What is a Tsunami? A tsunami (Japanese for ‘harbor wave”),

is a series of waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water when the sea floor abruptly shifts.

Almost 200 tsunamis have been recorded in Japan, the most in the world.

Within minutes of the earthquake on March 11, waves of up to 33 feet struck Japan and traveled up to six miles inland.

Youtube – How fast the waves came.. http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceym2c18OQM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7v8_-Z6mrA

Damage.. Several nuclear power plants in Japan

were damaged following the earthquake; one is in a state of emergency.

Officials from the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency have reported increased radiation levels up to 1,000 times normal levels inside several plants.

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