The Great East Japan Earthquake hit the coast of Tohoku the afternoon of March 11, 2011. The undersea earthquake was the most powerful to ever hit Japan, measuring 9.0 and lasting 6 minutes. It was so powerful, it shifted the Earth on its axis between four and eight inches and moved the Japanese island of Honshu 8 feet east. The quake triggered tsunami waves that measured up to 133 feet in height and traveled six miles inland in one area. More than 15,880 confirmed deaths were reported and caused nuclear accidents including meltdowns at three different reactors and numerous explosions at the nuclear plant in Fukushima.
Recommended Resources
Boston.com: Massive Earthquake Hits Japan
The original news article about the earthquake on March 11, 2011 which had hit Japan that very morning. Includes dramatic photographs, videos, and information.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/massive_earthquake_hits_japan.html
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
The Telegraph's news articles about the March 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster includes details as they were known in December 2011 about the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Also discusses options for cooling down the reactor and admits that nuclear contamination would impact all local industries, farm produce, and tourism.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8953574/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-and-Fukushima-nuclear-disaster-2011-review.html
Presents before and after pictures of various places affected by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, along with photographs which the reader can swipe and the state of the location changes entirely.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/japan-quake-2011/
Special Report: The Fallout from Fukushima
New Scientist issued this special report about the nuclear fallout situation about Fukishima, amid reports that Japan would build a wall of ice in order to stem the leak, and all sorts of other information, including the speculation about how to handle the problem.
http://www.newscientist.com/special/fukushima-crisis
