Question
Recovering from disasters: Social networks matter more than bottled water and batteries
Daniel P. Aldrich
2017
The 2011 catastrophe
At 2:46 pm on Friday, March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast. The quake was bigger and lasted longer than the hundreds of quakes which rattle the nation annually, but did little damage to homes and businesses. Unfortunately, however, the danger was far from over.
Within 40 minutes massive waves of water, some as high as six stories, smashed down on coastal communities in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. Some 18,500 lives were lost, primarily to the tsunami.
Damage from the earthquake and tsunami shut down the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants 1 through 3, which experienced nuclear fuel meltdowns. Over 160,000 people were forced to evacuate from Fukushima prefecture. The radiation exclusion zone initially covered more than 5,400 square miles, but has slowly decreased as decontamination efforts have progressed.
In total, more than 470,000 people evacuated during the disaster. The nuclear accident paralyzed national politics, made many survivors anxious and depressed, and changed the landscape of energy policy in Japan by pushing local residents to pursue non-nuclear options. Many communities have started electricity cooperatives where they use geothermal, solar and wind to produce their power.
The 2011 catastrophe…
affected a small number of Japanese citizens.
continues to have consequences locally and nationally.
was caused by the first earthquake to affect Japan in its history.
encouraged Japan to rethink where it builds its cities and towns.
Daniel P. Aldrich
2017
The 2011 catastrophe
At 2:46 pm on Friday, March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast. The quake was bigger and lasted longer than the hundreds of quakes which rattle the nation annually, but did little damage to homes and businesses. Unfortunately, however, the danger was far from over.
Within 40 minutes massive waves of water, some as high as six stories, smashed down on coastal communities in the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. Some 18,500 lives were lost, primarily to the tsunami.
Damage from the earthquake and tsunami shut down the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants 1 through 3, which experienced nuclear fuel meltdowns. Over 160,000 people were forced to evacuate from Fukushima prefecture. The radiation exclusion zone initially covered more than 5,400 square miles, but has slowly decreased as decontamination efforts have progressed.
In total, more than 470,000 people evacuated during the disaster. The nuclear accident paralyzed national politics, made many survivors anxious and depressed, and changed the landscape of energy policy in Japan by pushing local residents to pursue non-nuclear options. Many communities have started electricity cooperatives where they use geothermal, solar and wind to produce their power.
The 2011 catastrophe…
affected a small number of Japanese citizens.
continues to have consequences locally and nationally.
was caused by the first earthquake to affect Japan in its history.
encouraged Japan to rethink where it builds its cities and towns.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
The 2011 catastrophe **continues to have consequences locally and nationally.** The earthquake and tsunami, along with the subsequent nuclear disaster, significantly impacted the lives of many individuals, forcing evacuations and leading to lasting changes in energy policy across Japan. The psychological effects on survivors and the shifts towards renewable energy sources highlight the ongoing repercussions of the disaster.