Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Problem Explained (CNN) Plate tectonics. 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku (東北地方太平洋沖地震, Tōhoku-chihō Taiheiyō Oki Jishin) was a magnitude 9.0–9.1 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on Friday 11 March 2011,[5][11][12] with the epicentre approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 29 km (18 mi).[5][13] The earthquake is often referred to in Japan as the Great East Japan Earthquake (東日本大震災, Higashi nihon daishinsai)[14][15][fn 1] and is also known as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake,[30] the Great Sendai Earthquake,[31] the Great Tōhoku Earthquake,[31] and the 3.11 earthquake.
Earthquake The main earthquake was preceded by a number of large foreshocks, with hundreds of aftershocks reported. Geology Tōhoku earthquake and aftershocks from 11 to 14 March Hypocentral region boundaries (Source: The Japanese Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion) Energy Aftershocks Japan. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故, Fukushima Daiichi ( pronunciation) genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko?) Was a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant that began on 11 March 2011 and resulted in a nuclear meltdown of three of the plant's six nuclear reactors.[6] The failure occurred when the plant was hit by a tsunami that had been triggered by the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku earthquake.[7] The following day, 12 March, substantial amounts of radioactive material began to be released,[8] creating the largest nuclear incident since the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986 and the only (after Chernobyl) to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale[9] (initially releasing an estimated 10–30% of the earlier incident's radioactivity).[10] In August 2013, it was stated[by whom?]
That the significant amount of radioactive water was among the most pressing problems affecting the cleanup process, which is expected to take decades. Overview of the incident[edit] Moviemaker. Make digital movies online. Formerly Dfilm. 3D animation of tsunami flooding Fukushima II power plant, Japan March 2011.