Earthquake Case Studies: Japan 2011 & Nepal 2015
Two contrasting case studies comparing a High Income Country (HIC) and Low Income Country (LIC) - essential for understanding how wealth affects earthquake impacts and responses.
AQA Specification Requirement
"A case study of a tectonic hazard to explore the causes and effects of, and responses to, an earthquake in a country at a contrasting level of wealth."
You need TWO contrasting examples: one HIC (Japan) and one LIC (Nepal)
Japan 2011 Tohoku Earthquake - Key Facts
Magnitude
9.0
Deaths
19,759
Buildings Destroyed
400,000+
Damage
$235 billion
Location
- Epicentre: 130km east of Sendai, offshore
- Focus depth: 32km (shallow)
- Affected: Tohoku region, northeast Honshu
- Date: 11th March 2011, 2:46pm local time
Tectonic Cause
- Destructive plate boundary
- Pacific Plate subducting beneath North American Plate
- Japan Trench subduction zone
- Megathrust earthquake - plates slipped 30-40 metres
- Seabed rose 7 metres, displacing ocean water
- Lasted 6 minutes
- Buildings swayed but most survived (earthquake-resistant design)
- 400,000+ buildings damaged
- Transport disrupted - bullet trains stopped safely
- Parts of coastline dropped 1 metre
- Japan moved 2.4 metres east
- Earth's axis shifted by 10-25cm
- Day shortened by 1.8 microseconds
Early Warning System
30-second warning before shaking reached Tokyo. Bullet trains stopped automatically. Many evacuated to high ground.
Search & Rescue
100,000 soldiers deployed within 24 hours. International help from 130 countries.
Emergency Shelters
470,000 people housed in evacuation centres. Supplies distributed efficiently.
Conclusion:
Overall, I largely agree that LICs suffer more severe impacts. While HICs can have high death tolls from secondary hazards, LICs experience worse building collapse deaths, proportionally greater economic damage, and much slower recovery. Development level is often more important than earthquake magnitude in determining overall severity.
1. What magnitude was the Japan 2011 earthquake?
2. What caused most deaths in the Japan earthquake?
3. Why did Nepal have more building collapse deaths despite a lower magnitude?
4. What percentage of Nepal's GDP was the damage cost?
5. What secondary effect occurred at Fukushima?
6. Which country recovered faster from their earthquake?
HIC
High Income Country - GDP per capita over $13,205 (e.g., Japan)
LIC
Low Income Country - GDP per capita under $1,135 (e.g., Nepal in 2015)
Primary Effects
Direct impacts of the earthquake (deaths, building collapse, ground shaking)
Secondary Effects
Resulting impacts (tsunami, landslides, fires, disease, economic loss)
Immediate Response
Actions in first hours/days (search & rescue, emergency shelter)
Long-term Response
Actions over months/years (reconstruction, new building codes)
Bottom Line: You need BOTH case studies for the exam. Japan shows that even wealthy, prepared countries can suffer massive casualties from secondary hazards (tsunami). Nepal shows that poor construction and limited resources make LICs more vulnerable to direct earthquake impacts and slower to recover. Always compare wealth levels when discussing earthquake impacts.