Following an 8.9 earthquake, the coast of Japan has been devastated by a huge Tsunami. Many nations surrounding the Pacific are now facing a tsunami warning. The state of Hawaii is bracing itself for waves anywhere between 1 and 5 metres forecast by the west coast tsunami warning center.
The extent of the damage within Japan is not yet known but TV pictures have shown water and debris running rapidly across coastal regions and farmland. The country’s transport infrastructure has ground to a halt and large aftershocks have continued for several hours.
Social media such as Twitter and Facebook have seen huge spikes in traffic as those in the midst of the disaster attempt to communicate with the outside world.
For a student friendly explanation of how and why tsunami‘s occur, see this Geography in the News article published in 2005 by Dr Neal Lineback.
See more detail on the quake here at the InCarto blog. See dramatic pictures of the quake, and its aftermath, here.
How are YOU discussing these events in YOUR classroom? Are you using Maps101? We have a ton of materials including news articles on earthquakes and tsunamis, National Geographic videos, maps and detailed country data on Japan and the countries of the pacific rim.
Let us know using the Comments section below, or email maps101@maps.com.
Related Articles
- Fears Of 20ft Tsunami After Tokyo Quake (news.sky.com)
- Japan Earthquake: 7.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 19-Feet High Tsunami Feared (huffingtonpost.com)
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Filed under: Current Events, Global Perspectives Tagged: | earth science, Earth Sciences, Education, Hawaii, Japan, k-12, Miyagi Prefecture, National Geographic, Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, tsunami, Tsunami warning system
[...] Huge Earthquake sends tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean (maps101blog.com) [...]
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