Meltdown!: The Nuclear Disaster in Japan and Our Energy Future

Meltdown!: The Nuclear Disaster in Japan and Our Energy Future — page 5
TSUNAMI The sudden upward movement of the top plate creates a huge tsunami A bulge of water about 180 km 110 mi wide begins traveling toward the Tohoku coast In the deep ocean a tsunami can travel at the speed of a jet plane It travels slower in shallower regions As the tsunami reaches shallow water near the Tohoku shore it slows and water piles up even higher The giant wave begins surging onto the closest land about 72 km 45 mi west of the epicenter about 10 to 20 minutes after the quake An hour later it reaches the major city of Sendai where it begins flooding the airport Most Japanese coastal towns have walls to keep them safe from tsunamis But this one is higher than the walls can handle At some narrow inlets it reaches as high as 39 m 128 ft It roars ashore It uproots trees knocks buildings off their foundations and carries cars and trucks in rivers of trash In some locations it rolls inland as far as 10 km 6 mi Loss of life and property is astonishing The tsunami damages or destroys roads railways a dam and more than 125 000 buildings Property damage may be more than 300 billion More than 5 300 people are injured and more than 23 300 are dead or missing Most of the damage and casualties are the result of the tsunami