In 2011, Japan experienced one of the largest earthquakes the country has ever had to face. On March 11, 2011 near the northeast coast of the island, Honshu, Japan, there was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which took thousands of lives and caused endless destruction. According to the United States Geological Survey, this was the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 (USGS, 2012). Earthquakes are a violent shaking of the ground caused by a rapid release of energy as a result of tectonic plate motion. From an article on Earth Scope, the 2011 Japan earthquake was caused from thrust faulting near the convergent plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. The lithosphere of the Western Pacific plate boundary started to subduct under Japan
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This earthquake was one of the first earthquakes that was intensively recorded with regards to seismic events of the magnitude. As this was thoroughly recorded, it helped scientists understand how other events will affect the nation in the future and now there is information that can lessen any uncertainty in seismic hazards. Researchers also know about different effects and hazards of earthquakes, like liquefaction (Nyquist, 2012). Some of the social impacts were the amount of human lives that were taken, the number of residents that had to evacuate, electricity problems, and even problems with public transportation and commuting. Unfortunately, dealing with the economic impacts, the real GDP growth decreased drastically which caused Japan to fall into a temporary recession. When this disaster occurred, the financial impacts were just as massive as the social and environmental impacts. Financial institutions had to procure longer term money right and there was a very strong demand for loans. However, the insurance companies did not seem to
This earthquake was one of the first earthquakes that was intensively recorded with regards to seismic events of the magnitude. As this was thoroughly recorded, it helped scientists understand how other events will affect the nation in the future and now there is information that can lessen any uncertainty in seismic hazards. Researchers also know about different effects and hazards of earthquakes, like liquefaction (Nyquist, 2012). Some of the social impacts were the amount of human lives that were taken, the number of residents that had to evacuate, electricity problems, and even problems with public transportation and commuting. Unfortunately, dealing with the economic impacts, the real GDP growth decreased drastically which caused Japan to fall into a temporary recession. When this disaster occurred, the financial impacts were just as massive as the social and environmental impacts. Financial institutions had to procure longer term money right and there was a very strong demand for loans. However, the insurance companies did not seem to