Natural disasters in Japan

Japan is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters. Two out of the five most expensive natural disasters in recent history have occurred in Japan, costing $181 billion in the years 2011 and 1995 only. Japan has also been the site of some of the 10 worst natural disasters of the 21st century. The types of natural disasters in Japan include tsunamis, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. The country has gone through many years of natural disasters, affecting its economy, development, and social life.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcano at Sakura-jima

Location	Last eruption
Mount Meakan, Hokkaido	2008
Mount Usu, Hokkaido	2001
Hokkaido Koma-ga-take, Hokkaido	2000
Mount Asama, Honshu	2009
Mount Hakkoda, Honshu	1997
Mount Niigatayake, Honshu	1998
Mount Yake, Honshu	1995
Oshima, Izu Islands	1990
Tori-shima, Izu Islands	2002
Miyake-jima, Izu Islands	2010
Mount Aso, Kyushu	2004
Mount Kuju, Kyushu	1996
Mount Sakura-jima, Kyushu	2012
Shinmoe-dake, Kyushu	2011
Mount Unzen, Kyushu	1996
Kikai Caldera, Osumi Islands	2004
Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands	2012
Fukutoku-Okanoba, Bonin Islands	2010
Iwo Jima	1997
Mount Oyama, Miyake-jima	2005

Typhoons

Japan is an island nation, surrounded by water. Typhoons (called hurricanes in the Western hemisphere) are extreme storms that can ravage the islands with high winds and surge. Here are some typhoons that hit Japan:

Typhoon from satellite

After the typhoon hit

Name of Typhoon	Year	Damage	Estimated death
Tropical Storm Aere	2011	$31 million	35
Typhoon Bart	1999	$5 billion	16
Typhoon Bolaven	2012	$475 million	59
Typhoon Chaba	2010	-	-
Typhoon Chataan	2002	$500 million	54
Typhoon Conson	2004	$3.8 million	2
Typhoon Damrey	2012	$636 million	14
Typhoon Dianmu	2004	$68.5 million	6
Tropical Storm Etau	2009	$87.5 million	28
Typhoon Ewiniar	2006	$1.4 billion	141
Tropical Storm Faxai	2007	$1.5 million	1
Typhoon Fengshen	2002	$4 million	5
Typhoon Fitow	2007	$1 billion	3
Typhoon Guchol	2012	$100 million	3
Typhoon Haikui	2012	$2.09 billion	105
Typhoon Jangmi	2008	$240.4 million	6
Typhoon Jelawat	2012	$27.4 million	3

Earthquakes

Japan has had a long history of earthquake catastrophe and seismic activity. Earthquakes are the vibrations caused by rocks breaking under stress. The underground surface along which the rock breaks and moves is called a fault plane. Over time, stresses build beneath the earth’s surface. Occasionally, stress is released resulting in the sudden, and sometime disastrous shaking we call an earthquake. Earthquakes can cause shaking that could last seconds or minutes. Besides that, there may be several earthquakes over a period ranging from hours to weeks called aftershocks, and the magnitude of the following tremors will decrease with time. It is important to know the earthquake magnitude because it can be the clue if there will be any aftershocks. Because of that, magnitude can be measured on the Richter scale, invented by Charles F. Richter in 1934. The Richter magnitude is calculated from the amplitude of the largest seismic wave recorded for the earthquake. In the past twenty years, the most severe earthquake that occurred was in 2011 off the coast of Tohoku.

Japan earthquake

After an earthquake

List of earthquakes in Japan

Location	Date	Estimated deaths
Hokkaido earthquake	1993, 12 July	202
Offshore Sanriku earthquake	1994, 28 December	3
Kobe earthquake	1995, 17 January	6,434
Ryukyu Islands earthquake	1998, 4 May	0
Geiyo earthquake	2001, 24 March	2
Hokkaido earthquake	2003, 25 September	1
Chuetsu earthquake	2004, 23 October	40
Fukuoka earthquake	2005, 20 March	1
Miyagi earthquake	2005, 16 August	0
Kuril Islands earthquake	2006, 15 November	0
Kuril Islands earthquake	2007, 13 January	0
Noto earthquake	2007, 25 March	1
Chuetsu Offshore earthquake	2007, 16 July	11
Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake	2008, 14 June	12
Izu Islands earthquake	2009, 9 August	0
Shizuoka earthquake	2009, 11 August	1
Ryukyu Islands earthquake	2010, 26 February	1
Bonin Islands earthquake	2010, 21 December	0
Tohoku earthquake	2011, 11 March	15,881
Miyagi earthquake aftershock	2011, 7 April	4
Fukushima earthquake	2011, 11 April	6
Fukushima earthquake aftershock	2011, 10 July	0
Izu Islands earthquake	2012, 1 January	0
Kamaishi earthquake	2012, 7 December	0
Chiba earthquake	2012, 14 March	0

Mudslides

A mudslide or mudflow occurs when rocks, sand and earth are loosened and fall from hills and mountains due to earthquake, rain or snow. In Japan, over two-thirds of the land is mountainous and therefore prone to mudslides.^[1]

Major mudslide events

Mount Ontake

On September 14, 1984, the Otaki earthquake (magnitude 6.8) in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, caused a major mudslide on the south face of Mount Ontake, which reached speeds of 80~100 km/h.^[2] Heavy rain over several days prior to the quake contributed to causing the mudslide, known as “Ontake Kuzure,” which took the lives of 29 people. After the disaster, barriers against mudslide were erected in nine locations at the foot of Mt. Ontake.^[3]

Wakayama, Nara

In September 2011, typhoon No. 12, which formed and was named on August 25, made landfall over Japan, bringing heavy rain to the mountainous Kii Peninsula, and causing a mudslide, called “Shinsohokai,” in Wakayama and Nara. "Shinsohokai" means that not only soil collapses, but also bedrock. In this case, houses were covered with earth and sand from the mudslide and there were many injured and killed.^[4]

Hiroshima

In June 2010, Hiroshima experienced heavy rains which caused severe damage, including mudslides and river floods; Shōbara had 64 mm rain in an hour and Hiroshima had 30–50 mm on June 12, 20-40mm on the 13th and 20-50mm on the 14th. Five people were killed and six injured; 1,787 houses were destroyed.^[5]

Tsunamis

11th March 2011 - the aftermath of the 9.0 earthquake.

See also

• List of disasters in Japan by death toll

References

1. "Japan Institute of Country-ology and Engineering". www.jice.or.jp. JICE. 2007. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
2. "Naganoken Seibu Jishin (The earthquake which hit Nagano prefecture)". www.jma-net.go.jp. Matsuhiro Seismological Observatory. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
3. "Naganoken Seibu Jishin (The earthquake which hit Nagano prefecture)". Sabo Gakkaishi 48 (4): 66–68. 1995. doi:10.11475/sabo1973.48.4_66.
4. "Kii Peninsula mudslide flooding". www.asahi.com. Asahi Sinbun DIGITAL. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
5. "Hiroshima Crisis-Management Department Crisis-Management Division". BOUSAI. Retrieved 2015-05-25.

External links

• Recent natural disasters in Japan-日本では最近の自然災害