Report on the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake: Its Impact, and Control/Monitoring Performances

Abstract

On 11 March 2011, a moment magnitude 9.0 earthquake and its subsequent tsunami struck the Pacific coastal areas in the north-eastern part of Japan (Tohoku district). Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in particular were severely damaged. Some cities, towns and villages in these three have been entirely destroyed by the tsunami, and have not yet fully recovered from those destructions. With the tsunami flood, one of the nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture was catastrophically damaged, resulting in the release of radioactive materials. In this paper, the impacts of this quake are discussed in regard to tsunami, nuclear power plants, high-rise buildings, and response-controlled buildings. In addition, as a successful example of control and monitoring, an emergency stop operation for the Tohoku Shinkansen trains is presented.