Shifts in deep geologic structure may have magnified great 2011 Japan tsunami
Monday, March 16, 2020 - 11:10
in Earth & Climate
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck under the seabed off Japan—the most powerful quake to hit the country in modern times, and the fourth most powerful in the world since modern record keeping began. It generated a series of tsunami waves that reached an extraordinary 125 to 130 feet high in places. The waves devastated much of Japan's populous coastline, caused three nuclear reactors to melt down, and killed close to 20,000 people.