Japan Earthquake: 11th March

Japan Earthquake : 11th March

On the 11th of March, at 14:46 JST (Japanese Standard Time). An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale, Struck the coast of Japan. It was recorded as the largest earthquake ever to hit the country. The epicentre was approximately 72 km off the coast of Japan, but still caused major upset. This then triggered tsunamis 10m high. In some cases the waves reached up to 10km inland. Official numbers now released report that 9,737 people have died, 2,766 people are injured, and 16,051 are missing. As well as over 125,000 buildings destroyed. Damage to a nuclear power plant in Fukoshima meant that the reactors were starting to leak radiation. After days of concern, and spraying water on the reactors, workers managed to restore power to the reactors and started to stabilise it. The earthquake moved Japan 2.4 m (7.9 ft) east, and moved the Earth round its axis 10cm. Expected costs to repair the damage are approximately $309 billion (£191 billion).