Japan earthquake and tsunami card sort
The area of fault that Japan's economy, which lost
The country’s own
meteorological agency revised
its reading of the Friday quake
from 8.8 to 9.0. The U.S.
Geological Survey said the
quake was an 8.9-magnitude.
62 landslides have been
reported.
Experts say that a large
number of people in affected
areas would suffer from acute
radiation syndrome and there
would be a rise in specific
types of cancers and stillbirths
if a full meltdown occurred.
Officials now believe at least
10,000 people were killed in
the magnitude 9.0 earthquake
and following 10-metre high
tsunami.
Local governments have been
unable to account for tens of
thousands of people, and at
least 20,820 buildings have
been fully or partially
damaged in quake-hit areas.
More than 1 million people are
without water or power and
towns have been wiped off the
map.
Power company officials say
hydrogen gas has also been
building up inside the reactor
building at the No. 3 reactor.
They have vented some of the
gas, but fear that could lead
to an explosion similar to the
one that destroyed the
building at reactor No. 1.
ruptured was actually small,
within a length between 300
and 400 km. In comparison,
the magnitude 9.1 Sumatra
earthquake in 2004 broke
along an area of fault 1,300
km long.
Nuclear power stations were
disabled and two reactors at
one plant are threatening
meltdown.
A building at a troubled
Japanese nuclear power
facility collapsed Saturday
afternoon with smoke
billowing out, and officials
responded by expanding the
evacuation perimeter to a 20-
kilometer radius and saying
they were preparing to
stockpile iodine.
More than 300,000 people
from stricken areas and
around the threatened nuclear
plants have been evacuated.
Along hundreds of miles of
Japan’s northeast coastline,
entire towns are swamped and
concern is increasing among
survivors and aid workers
about dwindling supplies.
Damage and disruption was
aggravated by more than 100
powerful aftershocks in the
hours after the first jolt.
The hard-hit northeast of
Japan is a major centre for car swept nine miles out to sea by
production, complete with a
myriad of parts suppliers and a
network of roads and ports for discovered clinging to the roof
efficient shipments.
its place as world's No. 2 to
China last year, was already in
a fragile state. It has been
ailing for 20 years, barely
managing to grow in-between
slowdowns, saddled by a
massive public debt.
Nissan said the tsunami
damaged 1,300 vehicles bound
for the USA.
Rolling blackouts would occur
in the regions covered by two
major power companies. Even
businesses in Tokyo are being
asked to limit their power
usage and turn off their neon
lights. The planned blackouts
would be a first for modern
Japan.
In the Wakabayashi ward of
Sendai, 200 to 300 bodies
were recently found on
beaches
Tens of billions of dollars will
be needed to rebuild homes,
roads and other infrastructure
— requiring public spending
that will add to the national
debt.
Almost 2 million households
were without power in the
freezing north, according to
Kyodo News Agency, and about
1.4 million were without
running water.
A sixty-year-old man has had a
miraculous escape after being
the tsunami in Japan.
Hiromitsu Shinkawa was
of his house two days after the
disaster struck

In California, although
harbours up and down the
coast were damaged in the
tsunami, officials say only one
person died as a direct result,
a young man taking pictures of
the surging waves at the
mouth of the Klamath River.
At the southern end of the
island the Shinmoedake
volcano started erupting again
after several quiet weeks.
Japan has mobilized 100,000
troops — twice the number
previously planned — who are
racing to rescue those in the
towns that were swept away.
More than 200,000 Japanese
were ferried to relief shelters from around the world, with
and millions of homes were
left without power and water
after the country's most
powerful quake ever struck.
Japan's Health and Welfare
Already saddled with debt that
Ministry had sent about a
is double the size of its $5
hundred vehicles out to supply
trillion (3.10 trillion pounds)
water to quake-damaged areas
economy and threatened by
Sunday, and government
credit downgrades, the
officials were distributing
government is discussing a
120,000 blankets, 120,000
temporary tax rise to fund
bottles of water and 29,000
relief work.
gallons of gasoline.
The impact of the quake's first
One reason for the lower
jolt, which hit at 2:46 p.m. on
death toll appeared to be a
a clear Friday afternoon, was
heightened readiness in
felt around the country,
Japan, raised particularly
including in Tokyo. There,
after the Kobe quake
office buildings swayed.
embarrassed the government
Trains, buses and phone
and builders for weak
service stopped. Millions of
preparedness.
households lost power.
Electronics plants in the
The earthquake that struck
northeast were also
Japan will exact a massive
temporarily closed, including
economic toll estimated at up
those owned by Sony Corp.
to $US34.6 billion
and Toshiba Corp.
Offers of sympathy were swift
Nine people have been
Japan's foreign ministry saying
affected by radiation coming
it had received assistance
from the plant.
offers from some 50
governments.