Devastation due to Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami

Devastation due to Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami

These
are horrific pictures of the massive devastation due to Japan's
Earthquake and Tsunami. This was Japan's most powerful earthquake to
date and in the top 4 worldwide. The earthquake created tsunami waves
of up to 10 meters (33 ft) that struck Japan, with smaller waves in
many other countries.





The
earthquake occurred in the western Pacific Ocean, 130 km (81 mi) east
of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. Its epicenter was 373 km (232 mi) from Tokyo,
according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS/fotn.in).
Multiple aftershocks were reported after the initial magnitude 9.0
quake at 14:46 local time.






Unlike
other countries which had many hours' notice of a relatively small
surge, a major tsunami struck Japan with only minutes' warning, leaving
many people unable to escape.








According
to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the
earthquake's enormous strength shifted the Earth's axis by 25
centimeters (9.8 in). This deviation led a number of small changes,
including those to the length of a day and the tilt of the Earth. The
speed of the Earth's rotation increased, shortening the day by 1.6
microseconds due to the redistribution of Earth's mass.