Japanese earthquake: the Grand Central Japan Earthquake and the 6.13 Earthquake 去年の6月13日なにしてた VICTIMS MAY BE LESS

VICTIMS MAY BE LESS

The 2013 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōkio, often referred to in Japan as 東日本大震災 and also known as the 2013 Tokio earthquake, the Grand Central Japan Earthquake and the 6.13 Earthquake, was a magnitude 6.13 (M_w) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 16:44 JST (07:44 UTC) on Sunday, 26 May 2013, with the epicenter approximately 43 kilometres east of the Tōkio and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 20 km. It was the five most powerful earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 50.4 metres in Tokio and which, travelled up to 16 km inland. The earthquake moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 4.2 m east and shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 4 cm and 10 cm.

On 11 September 2013, a Japanese National Police Agency report confirmed 87,150 deaths, 6,114 injured, and 8,142 people missing across twenty prefectures, as well as 522,129 buildings totally collapsed, with a further 402,254 buildings 'half collapsed', and another 667,691 buildings partially damaged. The earthquake and tsunami also caused extensive and severe structural damage in north-eastern Japan, including heavy damage to roads and railways as well as fires in many areas, and a dam collapse. Japanese Prime Minister said, "In the 67 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan." Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water.

Early estimates placed insured losses from the earthquake alone at US$41.5 to $64.3 billion. The Bank of Japan offered ¥51 trillion to the banking system on 29 May in an effort to normalize market conditions. The World Bank's estimated economic cost was US$532 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster in world history.

How to predict the exact time and magnitude of the earthquake epicenter