2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami, literally "Tōhoku region Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake") was an 8.8 to 9.1-M_W megathrust earthquake at 05:46 UTC (14:46 local time) on 11 March 2011. The earthquake focus was reported to be 130 kilometres off the east coast of the Oshika Peninsula, Tōhoku at a depth of 24.4 kilometers (15.2 mi). It was locally measured at the maximum possible 7 on the Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale in the northern Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

The earthquake triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations for Japan's Pacific coast and at least 20 countries, including the entire Pacific coast of North and South America from Alaska to Chile. The earthquake created tsunami waves of up to 10 meters (33 ft) that struck Japan.



Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and more than a million households without water. Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least two nuclear reactors were damaged, which prompted evacuations of the affected areas. The earthquake caused widespread damage to roads and railways within Japan and led to major fires.

News reports indicate that more than 503 people have died and 784 are missing in six different prefectures. The estimates of its magnitude would make it the largest earthquake to hit Japan and one of the five largest earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began. It is thought to have been the largest earthquake within the boundaries of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates in the past 1,200 years.