NATIONWIDE FIELD SURVEY OF THE 2011 OFF THE PACIFIC COAST OF TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI

Abstract

An earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan, on March 11, 2011. It generated a tsunami 130 km off the northern coast of Japan. The tsunami first reached the Japan mainland 20 min after the earthquake and attacked over 1,300 km along the Pacific coast, inundating over 400 km 2 of land. As of 14 July, estimated fatalities were 16,011 with additional 5,242 missing. This tsunami was the first case that the modern and well-developed tsunami countermeasures faced such an extreme event.