Japanese Earthquake 2011

On March 11,2011 near Tokyo, Japan an earthquake with an 8.9 magnitude struck the area causing more than just problems from falling buildings. The result of this earthquake came from thrust faulting on the subduction zone plate boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. The Japan Trench subduction zone has had nine earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973. The Japan earthquake far surpassed other  plate-boundary thrust-fault earthquakes in the southern Japan Trench, none of which attained a magnitude of eight. Occurring from the the quake was a tsunami that crushed eastern coast of Japan and swept away thousands of people, homes, cars, trees and even large buildings. Fires were burning for days long and people will stuck in devastation realizing they had nothing to go home to. The area around a nuclear power plant in the northeast was evacuated after the reactor's cooling system failed and the Japanese were faced with new problems everyday. (U.S Department of, 2011)

The effects of this earthquake have made this quake and tsunami one of the biggest natural disasters occurring in quite some time. Food has become hard to find and many have gone days without it because there is simply not enough places nearby to buy food. While some people evacuated and began to travel elsewhere they found themselves waiting in lines that stretched for miles to get gas. Problems began to arise when the issue about how the would handle the dead was brought about. Desperate municipalities are digging mass graves, unthinkable in a nation where the deceased are usually cremated and their ashes placed in stone tombs near Buddhist temples. While some were worrying about the dead, others were concerned about the nearby reactor overheating an leaking radiation. Radiation leakage concerns many people because of how easily it can affect the residents. Thousands of people were tested for radiation and many were even quarantined because they could infect other people. Clearly, the damage done by the earthquake and even worse, the tsunami, has caused a considerate amount of damage, while hundreds and thousands of residents to take shelter in places other than their home and find ways to keep their families safe. (Alabaster, Yamaguchi, Hosaka, & Kageyama , 2011)  

The Prime Minister said he had set up an Emergency Disaster Response Center. He had also said the Japanese military would help in the relief effort, and the people of Japan should remain calm.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made a statement saying the U.N. stands ready to help as well. Japan is one of the world's best-prepared countries to deal with one of the world's worst earthquakes. As the tsunami spread, many turned to Japans poor neighbors, in hopes that maybe the tsunami would not hit them as well. The wave spread past Guam and Saipan without doing real damage and Hawaii sounded an early alarm for those on the coast to get to higher ground. Without the early response system many surrounding countries might not have been able to plan for what was coming their way. Even with all the aid that Japan is receiving they are still going to have to accept the fact that recovery from this type of devastation will take a considerate amount of time to fully recover from. Accepting as much help as they can will hopefully only help them recover faster. In the meantime, all they can do it keep their residents safe and hope the radiation does not continue to grow and become a bigger threat for them. (Magistad, 2011) 

U.S Department of the Interior, U.S Geological Survey . (2011). Magnitude 9.0 - near east coast of honshu,japan Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/#summary  

Alabaster, J, Yamaguchi, M, Hosaka, T.A, & Kageyama , Y. (2011, March). Japan earthquake 2011:8.9 magnitude earthquake hits, 30 ft. tsunami triggered. Huffpost World, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html  

Magistad, M.K (Writer). (2011). Begins slow earthquake recovery [Radio series episode]. In (Executive producer), Public Radio International. PRI/BBC. 

San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

March 18, 1906 was the day a major earthquake struck San Francisco California and made history. Rupturing almost 300 miles from the San Andrea Fault, at 5:12 a.m. the earthquake shook San Francisco for almost 60 seconds. The quake and after shock was felt from Los Angeles all the way to central Nevada. The immediate impact of the quake was disastrous leaving thousands of people homeless and suffering the loss of their family members.The earthquake ignited several fires that burned for three days and destroyed close to 500 blocks. Because of this earthquake the elastic-rebound theory was discovered shortly later in the year. The study of this earthquake became the most important study of quakes in history. ( U.S Department of, 2009 ). 


The people that survived this disaster slept in tents in city parks and the Presidio. Not only did they sleep outside in tents but they stood in long lines for food, and were required to do their cooking in the street to minimize the threat of additional fires. The typical bread line would stretch for miles long but they had no choice but to wait in the line since the bread line was one of their only sources of food. This earthquake is considered one of the worst natural disasters in history of the U. S. Aid from all the country was pouring in but it was not enough to help fix the collapsed buildings and burning houses of the people that resided in them. The police and government officials began to destroy liquors and spirits because of the threat of more possible fires and also mob violence. The owners of these saloons and liquor stores complained to the House Claims Committee wanted their alcohol replenished. The conditions were almost unlivable for the amount of time it took for the affected cities to be back to normal. (U.S National Archives)


The U.S. Army and a self-appointed Citizen’s Committee of Fifty took on the task of managing sanitation, food, clothing and adequate shelter for the city’s newly destitute and homeless population. Also, the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees put in plans for the city to pay for food, water, tents, blankets, and medical supplies for weeks following the earthquake and fire's. They also made available funds to reconstruct many of the public buildings that were damaged or destroyed. Shortly after the shocks ended the University officials quickly began to assess damages to the affiliated colleges and moved to meet the immediate needs of the University and its public. Luckily, the large military population of San Francisco was there to provide some relief from the damage done. Also pictures were taken and to be documented so the Senate could have documentation of this disaster to go back and look on and/or study in the future. (The 1906 earthquake, 2010)

U.S Department of the Interior , U.S Geological Survey . (2009). The great 1906 san francisco earthquake Retrieved from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php 

U.S National Archives and Records Administration, (n.d.). San francisco earthquake of 1906 Washington, DC: Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/sf/ 

The 1906 earthquake and response. (2010). Unpublished manuscript, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from http://history.library.ucsf.edu/1899_earthquake.html