Zemletryasenie off the East coast of Honshu island in Japan (jap. 東北地方太平洋沖地震:Hoku quiet: Taihai:-Oki zisin, "Earthquake in the Pacific ocean, which influence on the Tohoku region"), also the Great East Japan earthquake (Japanese 東日本大震災 Higashi Nihon daishinsai) — magnitude earthquake, according to current estimates, between 9.0 and[8] to 9.1[2] occurred on 11 March 2011 at 14:46 local time (8:46 Moscow time[9]). The epicenter of the earthquake was determined at coordinates 38,322° C. sh. 142,369° e to the East of the island of Honshu, 130 km East of Sendai and 373 km North-East of Tokyo[8]. Hypocenter of the most devastating quake (which occurred at 05:46:23 UTC) was at a depth of 32 km below sea level in the Pacific ocean. This is the strongest earthquake in the known history of Japan[8] and the seventh[10], and according to other estimates even the sixth[11], fifth[2] or fourth[12] in force for the entire history of seismic observations in the world[13]. However, the number of victims and the scale of destruction it is inferior to earthquakes in Japan in 1896 and 1923 (the heaviest in the consequences) years. The earthquake occurred at a distance of about 70 km from the nearest point of the coast of Japan. The initial count showed that it took the tsunami waves 10 to 30 minutes to reach Japan's first affected areas. 69 minutes (at 15:55 JST)[14] after the tsunami earthquake, Sendai airport flooded. Immediately after the earthquake, scientists predicted that within a month after the first impact, earthquakes with magnitude greater than 7[15] could occur in Japan.
This is the strongest earthquake in the known history of Japan[8] and the seventh[10], and according to other estimates even the sixth[11], fifth[2] or fourth[12] in force for the entire history of seismic observations in the world[13]. However, the number of victims and the scale of destruction it is inferior to earthquakes in Japan in 1896 and 1923 (the heaviest in the consequences) years.
The earthquake occurred at a distance of about 70 km from the nearest point of the coast of Japan. The initial count showed that it took the tsunami waves 10 to 30 minutes to reach Japan's first affected areas. 69 minutes (at 15:55 JST)[14] after the tsunami earthquake, Sendai airport flooded.
Immediately after the earthquake, scientists predicted that within a month after the first impact, earthquakes with magnitude greater than 7[15] could occur in Japan.