Damage caused by Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis 2011

Key facts about DAMAGE and DESTRUCTION caused by

Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis of March 2011

Read the comprehensive post on the March 2011 Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, with general info, info on economic impact, facts on earthquake, tsunami & nuclear disasters

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[Buy 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake]
[100% of procceds go to the Japanese Red Cross Society]

DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION

* DEATH TOLL: The official death toll on April 8 was 12,690. More than 14,700 are still unaccounted for. In the small port town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi prefecture, some 10,000 people are missing, more than half its 17,500 population. On March 14, 1,000 bodies washed up on shores on Ojika peninsula and another 1,000 were spotted in Minamisanriku.

* EVACUATED: About 500,000 people were evacuated up to March 15, including 70,000 within a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. One week after the disaster, some 390,000 people - many elderly - were still homeless and living in shelters in near-freezing temperatures. On April 8, about 157,600 people were still living in shelters around the country.

* INFRASTRUCTURE: Entire towns were wiped off the map. Houses, cars, ships, buildings were washed away, roads
buckled, highways collapsed, power lines tangled, railway tracks damaged. Japan Rail  suspended services in Tohoku and Yamagata, as well as on its Akita bullet-train lines.

At least 48,600 buildings were completed destroyed, washed away or burnt down. At least 117,570 buildings were damaged, according to the National Police Agency.

* LIFE IN AFTERMATH: March 15, 4 days after the disaster, 850,000 households / 2 million people were without electricity in freezing weather and another 1.5 million without running or drinking water. Many supermarket shelves were empty. There were 2km (1.2mile)-long queues / four-hour waits at some gas stations. Some people have been forced to live hand-to-mouth, surviving on shared instant noodles, rice crackers and rice balls.

April 7: About 159,000 households in the north still without power after the March 11 triple whammy. That figure went up to more than 3.2 million after a 7.1 magnitude aftershock on April 7.

March 19:  Nearly 260,000 households in the north still without electricity (according to Tohuku Electric Power Co),  about 1 million homes have no running water (according to Health Ministry). Aids groups say most vicitims are getting help, but some are suffering.

March 23: 212,472 households without electricity. 660,000 households without access to water.

* INSURED LOSSES: estimated US$35 billion (estimate by risk modelling company AIR Worldwide), nearly as much as the entire worldwide catastrophe loss to the global insurance industry in 2010.

* COST OF DAMAGE: Economics Minster Kaoru Yosano said the economic damage was more than 20 trillion yen (US$248 billion) - his estimate of the total economic impact of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe. What is clear is that the reconstruction costs will be Japan's biggest since World War II. Yosano said government spending was likely to exceed the 3.3 trillion yen spent after Kobe, which up to now has been considered the world’s costliest natural disaster. (more info on economic impact of disaster here)

* NUCLEAR CRISIS: The nuclear crisis is developing. The cooling systems for the six reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi (No.1) plant 250 km north-east of Tokyo were knocked out by the March 11 tsunami. This led to suspected partial meltdowns; hydrogen explosions and fires have also ripped through the plant.

March 27: Confusion over extent of radiation leak. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power initially said radiation levels were 10 million times higher than normal. It later retracted the statement and said the radiation level in puddles near reactor No. 2 were more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour. A single dose of 1,000 millisieverts can cause temporary radiation sickness, including nausea and vomiting. An exposure of 100 millisieverts per year is considered the lowest level at which an increase in cancer risk is evident. Several hundred metres offshore, levels of radioactive iodine some 1,850 times the legal limit were reported on March 27 but officials ruled out an immediate threat to marine life and seafood safety. Radioactive vapour seeping from the plant has contaminated tap water and farm produce in the region, leading the United States, European Union, China and many other countries to stop the import of Japanese food.

March 23: The Japanese government says radioactive iodine exceeding the level considered safe for infants has been detected in Tokyo’s tap water. Radiation has already seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and even seawater in areas surrounding the plant, with radioactivity drastically exceeding legal limits found in more than 10 kinds of vegetable grown in Fukushima.

March 20: Engineers are fighting to lower rising temperatures at the plant. The radiation-suited crews managed to restore power to the ageing facility by reconnecting the No. 2 reactor to the national power grid, crucial to efforts to cool it down and limit radiation leak. They are also pumping seawater to cool the overheating reactors and replenish bubbling and depleted pools for spent nuclear fuel.

March 19: Traces of radiation first detected in spinach and milk from farms 30-120 km (20-75 miles) from the nuclear plant. Radiation also found further away in tap water, rain and even dust. In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate risk to health. Radiation also detected in eastern Russia but at levels that pose no risk to humans, according to Austria’s Meteorological and Geophysics Center.

March 15: Radiation levels near the Fukushima Dai-ichi (No.1) plant 250 km north-east of Tokyo, ranged from 30 to 400 millisieverts in the morning. A single dose of 1,000 millisieverts – or one sievert – causes temporary radiation sickness such as nausea and vomiting.

* FOREIGN AID

134 countries and 39 international organisations have offered Japan help.

link to BBC map on areas hit by Japan's earthquake with video reports and images

[ links to documentaries and other related links at the bottom of this post ]

[Buy 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake]
[100% of procceds go to the Japanese Red Cross Society]

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related posts
* FACTS: Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis March 2011
* Economic impact of Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis 2011
* Japan earthquake, tsunami: How to help
* facts on earthquakes
* facts on tsunamis
* facts on nuclear disasters

Sources for the full post on facts about the Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis March 2011: Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg, Ottawa Citizen, National Geographic, Reuters, BBC, buzzle, Wikipedia, USGS, Scolastic

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HOW YOU CAN HELP
Buy 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake: 100% of procceds go to the Japanese Red Cross Society
Google Person Finder 2011 Japan Earthquake (use this to locate or provide info about a victim)
Volunteer interpreters (Japan Association of Translators) 
Donate with PayPal: Japan earthquake and tsunami relief
Yahoo! link to where you can donate: Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help
Japan earthquake tsunami: How to help (my post with links to resources, places to donate, raffles and giveaways)

USEFUL INFO
How to protect yourself in an earthquake and emergency numbers for Japan (in 24 languages)
72-hour emergency preparedness kit DIY (Tipnut)

PHOTOS
Earthquake in Japan (The Atlantic)
Epic waves, earthquake shock Japan (National Geographic)

DOCUMENTARIES
PBS video on Japan's killer quake (aired March 31, 2011)
Japan's tsunami: How it happened (in my tsunami post or at YouTube)


NEWS
BBC Japan earthquake portal 
Timeline on Japan's unfolding nuclear crisis (Reuters)
Updates on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan (The Lede, NY Times)  lots of videos, also of tsunami hitting US
video: Japan tsunami engulfs everything in its path (Daily Telegraph)
Magnitude 8.9 Near the East Coast of Japan, USGS podcast 
10-year-old girl Tilly Smith saves 100 tourists from 2004 tsunami at Thai beach (Daily Telegraph)
Japan markets and economy after Kobe earthquake (Reuters)
Advanced economies at advantage in disaster (Reuters via The Montreal Gazette)


EDUCATION
facts, info, videos on tsunamis (National Geographic)
USGS earthquake FAQ
earthquake and tsunami facts (MCEER, SUNY Buffalo)seismicity in Japan (wikipedia)
for kids
Fema for kids: tsunamis
(USGS) Earthquake for kids
Geology - Plate tectonics (Yahoo! kids)
Talking to your child about the earthquake in Japan (WFAA.com Kid's doctor)