Here are subset of the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
・A tsunami is a series of waves, and the first wave may not be the most dangerous.
・Even a small tsunami can cause damage to moored vessels and aquaculture facilities.
・Strong shaking and long-period ground motion from the quake wreaked widespread havoc.
Tsunami-inundated area is outlined in red. For comparison, the map of Great Britain and Ireland is showed. Britain is also an island country and is not too different in size to Japan. Just for your information, the total tsunami-inundated area(561km²) is nearly equal to the areas of Aberdeen(185.7 km²), Edinburgh(264 km²) and Liverpool(111.8 km².)
The spilling wave of the tsunami is terrible, but its backrush is more terrible. The backrush washed people and coastal structures into the sea with speed greater than the speed of the spilling wave. The backrush plummeted into the sea from the top of the quay wall as if a waterfall fell into the basin of water from its top. Some victims floating or on the roofs were driven to the basin.
Damage caused by Great East Japan Earthquake as of 1 March 2017
(Fire and Disaster Management Agency released)
Prefectures | Casualties | Residence Buildings | Non-residential Buildings | Fire | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dead | Missing | Injured | Completely destroyed | Half destroyed | Partially destroyed | Inundation above floor level | Inundation below floor level | Public buildings | Others | ||
Hokkaido | 1 | - | 3 | - | 4 | 7 | 329 | 545 | 17 | 452 | 4 |
Aomori | 3 | 1 | 110 | 308 | 701 | 1,005 | - | - | - | 1,402 | 11 |
Yamagata | 3 | - | 45 | - | 14 | 1,249 | - | - | 8 | 124 | 2 |
Akita | - | - | 11 | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
Iwate | 5,134 | 1,122 | 211 | 19,507 | 6,570 | 18,963 | - | 6 | 529 | 4,178 | 33 |
Miyagi | 10,556 | 1,234 | 4,148 | 83,000 | 155,129 | 224,202 | - | 7,796 | 9,948 | 16,848 | 137 |
Fukushima | 3,730 | 225 | 182 | 15,218 | 80,628 | 141,154 | 1,061 | 351 | 1,010 | 36,770 | 38 |
Ibaraki | 65 | 1 | 714 | 2,629 | 24,374 | 187,682 | 1,799 | 779 | 1,798 | 20,804 | 31 |
Tochigi | 4 | - | 133 | 261 | 2,118 | 73,792 | - | - | 718 | 9,703 | - |
Gunma | 1 | - | 40 | - | 7 | 17,679 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
Saitama | 1 | - | 104 | 24 | 199 | 16,570 | - | - | 95 | - | 12 |
Chiba | 22 | 2 | 261 | 801 | 10,152 | 55,043 | 157 | 731 | 12 | 827 | 18 |
Tokyo | 8 | - | 119 | 20 | 223 | 6,552 | - | - | 419 | 786 | 35 |
Kanagawa | 5 | - | 137 | - | 41 | 459 | - | - | - | 13 | 6 |
Niigata | - | - | 3 | - | - | 17 | - | - | 4 | 5 | - |
Yamanashi | - | - | 2 | - | - | 4 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - |
Nagano | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Shizuoka | - | - | 3 | - | - | 13 | - | 5 | - | - | - |
Mie | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
Osaka | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 3** | - | - |
Tokushima | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 9 | - | - | - |
Kochi | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | 8 | - | - | - | |
Total | 19,533 | 2,585 | 6,230 | 121,768 | 280,160 | 744,396 | 3,352 | 10,230 | 14,562 | 91,913 | 330 |
*The fatalities number includes disaster-related death
**A skyscraper building in Osaka was slightly damaged by long-period ground motion. The motion caused damage to floating roofs of oil storage tanks by liquid sloshing in Yamagata, Niigata, Kanagawa and Chiba Prefectures.
Cause of death in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima prefectures
(National Police Agency, Cabinet Office)
Causes | Percentage Of Deaths |
---|---|
Drowning | 92.4% |
Shaking(collapse, etc.) | 4.4% |
Fire | 1.1% |
Unspecified | 2% |
Current situations of evacuees as of 13 February 2017
(Reconstruction Agency)
Houses of relatives, acquaintances etc. | Residence (including public housing、 temporary housing、 privately rented housing、 hospitals | |
---|---|---|
Evacuee numbers | 18,177 | 104,991 |
Temporary housing residents as of January 2017
by Yahoo Japan(https://fukko.yahoo.co.jp/graph/)
Prefectures | Number of Temporary housing Residents |
---|---|
Iwate | 10,503 |
Miyagi | 12,619 |
Fukushima | 12,381 |
Even in Japan, a house is probably the largest purchase one makes in his lifetime.
Most people build a house with a loan.
by Yahoo Japan(https://fukko.yahoo.co.jp/graph/)
using public system | by oneself | |
---|---|---|
number of houses | 19,074 | 31,769 |
Tsunami-inundated areas(km²)
(Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)
Prefectures | Total | Land use Type | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rice paddies | Urban areas | Seashore | |||
Aomori | 24 | 0.72 | 2.4 | 7.9 | |
Iwate | 58 | 9.86 | 19.72 | 1.74 | |
Miyagi | 327 | 134.07 | 68.67 | 6.54 | |
Fukushima | 112 | 59.36 | 13.44 | 3.36 | |
Ibaraki | 23 | 1.38 | 3.45 | 6.67 | |
Chiba | 17 | 3.57 | 2.55 | 3.91 | |
total | 561 | 207.57 | 112.2 | 33.66 |
Damage of medical and welfare institutions in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima prefectures
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
hospitals | medical clinics | dental clinics | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
prefectures | Completely destroyed | Partially destroyed | Completely destroyed | Partially destroyed | Completely destroyed | Completely destroyed |
Iwate | 3 | 59 | 38 | 76 | 46 | 79 |
Miyagi | 5 | 123 | 43 | 581 | 32 | 367 |
Fukushima | 2 | 108 | 2 | 516 | 5 | 374 |
total | 10 | 290 | 83 | 1,173 | 83 | 820 |
child welfare facilities | elder care facilities | facilities for the disabled | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
prefectures | Completely destroyed | Partially destroyed | Completely destroyed | Partially destroyed | Completely destroyed | Completely destroyed |
Iwate | 12 | 29 | 9 | 92 | 9 | 56 |
Miyagi | 13 | 131 | 2 | 54 | 11 | 122 |
Fukushima | 2 | 92 | 1 | 168 | 0 | 70 |
total | 27 | 252 | 12 | 314 | 20 | 248 |
Infrastructure damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake as of 1 March 2016
(National Police Agency)
Prefectures | Damaged points | Landslides | Dike breaks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roads | Bridges | Railroads | |||
Aomori | 2 | - | - | - | - |
Yamagata | 21 | - | - | 29 | - |
Akita | 9 | - | - | - | - |
Iwate | 30 | 4 | - | 6 | - |
Miyagi | 390 | 12 | 26 | 51 | 45 |
Fukushima | 187 | 3 | - | 9 | - |
Ibaraki | 307 | 41 | - | - | - |
Tochigi | 257 | - | 2 | 40 | - |
Gunma | 36 | - | - | 9 | - |
Saitama | 160 | - | - | - | - |
Chiba | 2,343 | - | 1 | 55 | - |
Tokyo | 295 | 55 | - | 6 | - |
Kanagawa | 160 | 1 | - | 2 | - |
Gifu | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Total | 4,198 | 116 | 29 | 207 | 45 |
Even a small tsunami caused damage to aquaculture: Rafts or fishing float balls were swept away. Fouled ropes became unusable. Fish escaped from broken live boxes.
Damage of Fisheries
(Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan)
Prefectures | Fishing vessels | Fishing ports | Joint Use Facilities** | Fishery Processing Facilities | Aquaculture | Tsunami Height (Obsevation Point) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Completely destroyed | Half destroyed | Inundation | Farmed species | Facility damage (millions of yen) | Product damage (millions of yen) | |||||
Hokkaido | 793 | 12 | 83 | - | 4 | 27 | Scallop, Oyster, Sea urchin, Konbu(kelp), Wakame(Sea mustard) etc. | 9,356 | 5,771 | 430cm (Toyokoro-cho) |
Aomori | 620 | 18 | 73 | 4 | 14 | 39 | Konbu, Scallop | 43 | 19 | 840cm (Hachinohe Port) |
Iwate | 13,271 | 108 | 580 | 128 | 16 | - | Scallop, Oyster, Konbu, Wakame etc. | 13,087 | 13,174 | 1670cm (Ofunato) |
Miyagi | 12,029 | 142 | 495 | 323 | 17 | 38 | Silver salmon, Scallop, Oyster, Sea squirts、 Konbu, Wakame, Nori(algae) etc. | 48,700 | 33,189 | 1480cm (Onagawa Port) |
Fukushima | 873 | 10 | 233 | 77 | 16 | 12 | Nori etc. | 297 | 536 | 1650cm (Futaba-cho) |
Ibaraki | 488 | 16 | 172 | 32 | 33 | 12 | Carp, Pearl etc. | 27*** | - | 690cm (Kitaibaraki City) |
Tochigi | - | - | 2*** | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Chiba | 405 | 13 | 78 | 6 | 13 | 12 | Nori etc. | 428 | 737 | 640cm (Asahi City) |
Tokyo | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 150cm (Harumi) |
Kanagawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | Wakame etc. | 33 | 32 | 155cm (Yokohama) |
Niigata | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | Nishikigoi (Japanese colored carp) | 4*** | - | 18cm (Niigata West Port) |
Toyama | 8* | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9cm (Shinminato) |
Ishikawa | 1* | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19cm (Kanazawa) |
Shizuoka | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 144cm (Omaezaki) |
Aichi | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | Nori etc. | - | - | 155cm (Akabane, Tahara City) |
Mie | 26 | - | 4 | - | - | - | Red seabream, Pacific bluefin tuna, Oyster, Nori, Pearl etc. | 1,274 | 2,355 | 182cm (Toba) |
Hyogo | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 27cm (Kobe) |
Wakayama | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | Red seabream, Pacific bluefin tuna etc. | 141 | 834 | 151cm (Fukuro Port, Kushimoto-cho) |
Tottori | 2* | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 cm (Sakai, Sakaiminato) |
Tokushima | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | Greater amberjack, Japanese amberjack, White trevally, Wakame etc. | 65 | 508 | 115cm (Yuki, Minami-cho) |
Kochi | 25 | - | 2 | - | - | - | Greater amberjack, Red seabream, Nori etc. | 228 | 2,377 | 278cm (Susaki) |
Oita | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | Red seabream, Japanese amberjack, White trevally, Olive flounder | 85 | 175 | 55cm ( Beppu Port) |
Miyazaki | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | Japanese amberjack, Atlantic horse mackerel, Japanese meagre etc. | 0.28 | 6 | 164cm (Miyazaki Port) |
Kagoshima | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 106cm (Shibushi Port) |
Okinawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | Mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus), Cobia | 6 | 32 | 60cm (Naha) |
Total | 28,612 | 319 | 1,725 | 570 | 113 | 140 | 73,776 | 59,745 |
*vessels damaged during mooring in affected ports
**fish markets、vanning/devanning facilities、oil depots、collaborative workspaces, fry facilities, ice-making and fridge-freezer facilities, aquaculture facilities etc.
***damages include aquaculture ponds damaged by shaking
***damages include aquaculture ponds damaged by shaking
Damage of Agriculture
(Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan)
Prefectures | Damaged points | Crop and Livestock damage (millions of yen) | Agriculture-related facilities *4, animal Husbandry facilities *5 (millions of yen) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Farmland | Agricultural facilities*1 | Seashore protective facilities *2 | Rural community facilities*3 | |||
Aomori | 20 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 258 | 582 |
Yamagata | 102 | 134 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 58 |
Akita | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
Iwate | 13,321 | 3,657 | 15 | 41 | 1,983 | 2,865 |
Miyagi | 1,495 | 4,724 | 103 | 107 | 8,214 | 35,121 |
Fukushima | 1,799 | 3,749 | 20 | 141 | 805 | 1,305 |
Ibaraki | 187 | 1,805 | 0 | 96 | 984 | 4,348 |
Tochigi | 238 | 405 | 0 | 23 | 1,017 | 3,506 |
Gunma | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 |
Saitama | 0 | 67 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Chiba | 113 | 2,225 | 0 | 16 | 632 | 1,265 |
Kanagawa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Nagano | 746 | 235 | 0 | 4 | 250 | 236 |
Shizuoka | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
Niigata | 165 | 252 | 0 | 7 | - | - |
Total | 18,186 | 17,317 | 139 | 450 | 14,213 | 49,292 |
*1 farm pond, waterway, pump, etc.
*2 dike, spur, bank protection, coastal Levee, detached breakwater, sand beach, etc.
*3 rural community sewerage, etc.
*4 grain elevator, agricultural warehouse, pipe house, etc.
*5 livestock barn, compost depot, etc.
Damage of Forestry
(Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan)
Prefectures | Damaged points | Forest damage (ha) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forest dilapidation | Forest conservation facilities *1 | Forest Road Facilities *2 | Wood processing and distribution Facilities *3 | Special Forest Product Facilities *4 | ||
Aomori | 1 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Yamagata | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Akita | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Iwate | 37 | 84 | 483 | 31 | 195 | 707 |
Miyagi | 113 | 97 | 580 | 42 | 54 | 220 |
Fukushima | 143 | 27 | 997 | 31 | 39 | 138 |
Ibaraki | 50 | 17 | 202 | 5 | 22 | 0 |
Tochigi | 65 | 2 | 100 | 1 | 86 | 0 |
Gunma | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Chiba | 5 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Niigata | 20 | 1 | 122 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
Yamanashi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Nagano | 7 | 1 | 138 | 1 | 20 | 0 |
Shizuoka | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kochi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 458 | 275 | 2,632 | 115 | 476 | 1,065 |
*1 coastal levee breach, flank collapse, rockfall, landslide, etc.
*2 roadside slope failure, road shoulder collapse, landslide, etc.
*3 burned-out trees, fallen and broken trees due to tsunami
*4 forest products other than wood such as Japanese lacquer, mushroom
Damage of sediment disasters
(Sabo (Erosion and Sediment Control) Department,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)
Disaster | Number | Dead | Prefectures |
---|---|---|---|
Mudflow, etc. | 13 | 0 | 0 |
Landslides | 29 | 16 | 14(Fukushima) 2(Tochigi) |
Cliff failures | 97 | 3 | Fukushima |
Avalanche | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 141 | 19 |
Total estimated damage caused by the Great EastJapanEarthquake as of 24 June 2011
(Cabinet Office)
category | item | Estimated damage (trillions of yen) |
---|---|---|
Constructions, etc. | Residencial houses and land, Stores and offices, Factories, Machines, etc. | 10.4 |
Lifeline Facilities | water, gas, Electric power, Telecommunication Facilities | 1.3 |
Infrastructure facilities | Rivers, Roads, Ports and harbors, sewerage, Airports, etc. | 2.2 |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Farmland, Agricultural facilities, Forest-related Facilities, Fishery-related facilities | 1.9 |
Others | Educational Facilities, Health and Welfare facilities, waste disposal facilities, other public facilities, etc. | 1.1 |
total | 16.9 |
16.9 trillion yen = $211,760(US millions, 2011) = €152,159(EUR millions, 2011) = £132,099(GBP millions, 2011) = 187,560(SFr millions, 2011) = C$209,341(CAD millions, 2011) = A$205,139(AUD Millions, 2011)
Just for your information, Japan's 2017 fiscal budget is 97.45 trillion yen ($870 billion).
Special Reconstruction Tax(2.1%) is imposed on individual income tax additionally from 2013 until 2037 for 25 years. Special Reconstruction Corporate Tax (10%) was imposed on corporations from 2012 to 2015.
There are several tours to tsunami-hit areas. Disaster tourism is not acceptable to all victims. The memory of the tsunami has been so painful that many victims just want to forget it. Meanwhile, many think the tragedy should not be remembered.
Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture:
http://www.kankou.natori.miyagi.jp/en/hisaichi/3715
Minamisanriku Hotel Kanyo’s "Storytelling bus tour", Miyagi Prefecture:
https://trip101.com/article/the-memory-of-tohoku-earthquake-will-not-fade-minamisanriku-hotel-kanyo-s-storytelling-bus-tour
http://imakoso-tohoku.com/ouen-program/progno010/ (Japanese version only)
(Minamisanriku’s former Crisis Management Cente is under reinforcement)
Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture (Japanese version only):
http://imakoso-tohoku.com/ouen-program/progno007/
Otsuchi-cho, Iwate Prefecture (Japanese version only):
http://imakoso-tohoku.com/ouen-program/progno006/
Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture (Japanese version only):
http://imakoso-tohoku.com/ouen-program/progno003/
Ishinomaki and Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture (Japanese version only):
http://imakoso-tohoku.com/ouen-program/progno009/
Tour to area within 20km radius from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant (Japanese version only):
Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture
https://nomado.info/20km/
Evacuation instruction zones in Fukushima Prefecture:
・Evacuation order cancellation preparation zone
・Restricted residence zone
・Difficult-to-return zone
Currently, these zones(726km2) occupy 5% of areas of Fukushima Prefecture (13,783km2).
In these areas, most of younger generation don't come back to their hometowns. They have begun to build new lives in another towns to which they have evacuated.
The Fukushima Prefectural Government is now checking all bags of rice for radiation. Fukushima rice passes Japan's radiation checks, but the rice price is lower than that of other prefectures.
Evacuation instruction zones in Fukushima Prefecture as of 14 March 2017
Municipalities | Evacuation order cancellation preparation zone | Restricted residence zone | Difficult-to-return zone |
---|---|---|---|
Minamisoma City | cancelled on 12 July 2016 | cancelled on 12 July 2016 | Part of city (including part of Kanaya(Odaka Ward), etc.) |
Iitate Village | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | Nagadoro district |
Yamakiya district, Kawamata Town | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | None |
Katsurao Village | cancelled on 12 June 2016 | cancelled on 12 June 2016 | Noyuki district |
Namie Town | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | cancelled on 31 March 2017 | Ide, Omaru, Obori, Sakai, Suenomori, Murohara, Tsushima, Minamitsushima, Kawabusa, Hirusone, Shimotsushima, Akougi, Hatsuke |
Futaba Town | Morotake, Nakano, Nakahama | None | Whole area except Morotake, Nakano, Nakahama |
Okuma Town | Nakayashiki district | Ogawara district | Whole area except Nakayashiki, Ogawara districts |
Tomioka Town | cancelled on 1 April 2017 | cancelled on 1 April 2017 | Part of town (including Osuge, Oragahama, Yonomori, Sakura, etc.) |
Data sources and references
Japanese version:
Cabinet Office, Government Of Japan, 2011. 東北地方太平洋沖地震を教訓とした地震・津波対策に関する専門調査会(第1回), 資料3-2 今回の津波被害の概要. [pdf] Cabinet Office, Government Of Japan. Available at:
http://www.bousai.go.jp/kaigirep/chousakai/tohokukyokun/1/pdf/3-2.pdf
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2012.「東日本大震災水道施設被害状況調査報告書(平成23年度災害査定資料整理版)」について,2.4 津波による浸水状況 [pdf] Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.Available at:
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/kenkou/suido/houkoku/suidou/dl/121214_024.pdf
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, 2011. 国土地理院東日本大震災調査報告会, 津波による浸水状況-平成23年東北地方太平洋沖地震- [pdf] Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Available at:
http://www.gsi.go.jp/common/000061103.pdf
Cabinet Office, Government Of Japan. 2017. 緊急災害対策本部とりまとめ報「平成23年(2011年)東北地方太平洋沖地震(東日本大震災)について」(平成29年3月8日14:00現在) [pdf] Cabinet Office, Government Of Japan. Available at:
http://www.bousai.go.jp/2011daishinsai/pdf/torimatome20170308.pdf
Yutaka Honkawa, 2011.
社会実情データ図録(http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/)
「東日本大震災で確認された津波の高さ」
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/4363b.html
English version:
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Government of Japan. 2012. "Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake By the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Government of Japan" (10th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies) [pdf] Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Government of Japan. Available at:
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/kokusaigyomu/asean/2012/dl/Introduction_Dr.Yamauchi.pdf