A magnitude-9.0 earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, struck in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of Japan’s Honshu island on March 11, 2011. It was the most powerful earthquake ever to hit Japan and the fourth largest ever recorded in the world. The earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that flooded more than 200 square miles of Coastal land. Waves estimated to be as high as 38 meters, the height of a 12-story building, tore apart Coastal towns and villages, carrying ships inland as thousands of homes were flattened, then washed tons of debris and vehicles back out to sea. Damage to the reactors at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant then caused a third disaster, contaminating a wide area that still forces nearly 100,000 residents to live as evacuees. Tsunami waves also swept across the Pacific, causing damage or disruptions in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Casualties from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan may be 30,000 and close to 500,000 people were forced to evacuate. More than 125,000 buildings have been washed away or seriously damaged; property damage is estimated the Great East Japan Earthquake to be more than $310 billion. 

1. When did the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of Japan’s Honshu?
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2. Is it the fifth largest earthquake ever recorded in the world?
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3. How high were the waves of the Tsunami?
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4. What was the effect of this disaster to property?
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