The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where several continental and oceanic plates meet. This is the cause of frequent earthquakes and the presence of many volcanoes and hot springs across Japan. If earthquakes occur below or close to the ocean, they may trigger tidal waves (tsunami).
Tsunami (Japanese: 津波; Tsu = port, nami = wave, which literally means "big waves at the port";) is the transfer of water bodies caused by changes in sea surface vertically with a sudden. Changes in sea level can be caused by an earthquake centered under the sea, underwater volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, or or a meteor hit the ocean. Tsunami waves can propagate in all directions. Power contained in the tsunami wave height is fixed to the function and kelajuannya. In the deep ocean, tsunami waves can propagate with the speed of 500-1000 km per hour. Equivalent to the speed of aircraft. Deep-sea wave height is only about 1 meter.
Yesterday on Friday (11 / 3) JAPAN shocked with earthquake and tsunami that devastated . Country, especially in the northeast, was hit by an earthquake with magnitude 8.9 earthquake forces. Facts speak, historically, the country sunrise is indeed a devastating earthquake subscribed since hundreds of years ago. That's what led Japan face later on in the condition of scattered islands, it is said that the result of a series of earthquakes of the past.
Earthquake in Japan itself occurred at 12:46 pm, centered 373 km northeast of Tokyo. Miyagi Prefecture suffered the most severe damage.
Nature's fury in the form of an earthquake in Japan with a range of 8.9 magnitude on Friday, was definitely affected by menggelagaknya sea water, resulting in a tsunami that would create a very powerful effect with the loss of too much.
Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, the city in Miyagi prefecture (state) closest to the quake's epicenter. Another 88 were confirmed killed and at least 349 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.
The magnitude-8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (seven-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html
