Tsunami Japan 2011

/in /by

15,000 dead, 230,000 still without homes in 2013 living in temporary housing. The magnitude-9 earthquake caused a tsunami after the subduction earthquake. The tsunami hit the nuclear power plant, causing a level 7 nuclear meltdown.

The total damage has totaled to $300 billion dollars.

Minutes before the shakes the citizens in Japan were alerted. An hour after the shakes the first tsunami waves hit. Most of the people died from drowning. The waves covered 217 square miles-much more than expected. The tsunami caused a cooling system failure because the power and back up power couldn’t handle the damaged cooling system and radioactive water continue to leak from Fukushima.

Radioactive chemicals have been detected in North America in 2014 and 2015. Cesium-134 has been detected as far south as Eureka, Ca, 100 miles off shore.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) measures the nuclear levels and reports the levels to be safe. Unfortunately 42 species fish in Japan are still reported to have unsafe levels of radioactive isotopes and the levels haven’t been dropping like expected. Many fisheries are closed. The long term effects of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima are still unknown and the concerns of cancers developing are still to come.

 

Amazing facts

Here are some of the amazing facts about the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

  • The earthquake shifted Earth on its axis of rotation by redistributing mass, like putting a dent in a spinning top. The temblor also shortened the length of a day by about a microsecond.
  • More than 5,000 aftershocks hit Japan in the year after the earthquake, the largest a magnitude 7.9.
  • About 250 miles (400 km) of Japan’s northern Honshu coastline dropped by 2 feet (0.6 meters), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
  • The jolt moved Japan’s main island of Honshu eastward by 8 feet (2.4 meters).
  • The Pacific Plate slid westward near the epicenter by 79 feet (24 m).
  • In Antarctica, the seismic waves from the earthquake sped up the Whillans Ice Stream, jolting it by about 1.5 feet (0.5 meters).
  • The tsunami broke icebergs off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
  • As the tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean, a 5-foot high (1.5 m) high wave killed more than 110,000 nesting seabirds at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
  • In Norway, water in fjords pointing toward Japan sloshed back and forth as seismic waves from the earthquake raced through.
  • The earthquake produced a low-frequency rumble called infrasound, which traveled into space and was detected by the Goce satellite.
  • Buildings destroyed by the tsunami released thousands of tons of ozone-destroying chemicals and greenhouse gases into the air.

 

 

http://www.livescience.com/39110-japan-2011-earthquake-tsunami-facts.html

Welcome to Neil Baker’s Page!

/in /by

Please select a project above to get started.

Protected: Great East Japan Earthquake March 2011

/in /by

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Protected: Ebola, a Call for Improved Preparation

/in /by

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Research Encounters

/in /by

 

One of the most common critters I encounter while conducting vegetation surveys on Santa Rosa Island are spiders. They often build their webs on shrubs, reeds, and forbs. The spiders abdomen and carapace are often about the size of a quarter. They are very uniquely colored and are intriguing creatures.

DSC_1778

Protected: Healthcare Disaster Plans

/in /by

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Responding to Disaster: Boston 2013

/in /by

The Boston Marathon bombing occurred on April 15th, 2013 when two homemade pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line just 12 seconds apart, ultimately killing 3 individuals and injuring 264 others. The winners of the marathon had crossed the finish line two hours prior, but 5,700 runners remained on the course and hundreds of thousands of spectators were still in the surrounding areas.

The Boston Emergency Medical Services, Boston Police Department, and Boston Fire Department were all on site and were able to quickly dispatch additional responders to the scene. First responders near the finish line quickly converted the runner’s first aid tent to an emergency triage unit. From there patients were triaged and transported to trauma centers throughout Boston.

Maureen Hemingway, a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), wrote an account detailing the response of the level 1 trauma unit to the disaster. According to Hemingway, staff first learned of the bombing moments after it occurred through their personal cell phones and social media accounts. The Boston emergency medical system had notified hospital leaders of the bombing but it took time for this information to be disseminated through the hospital emergency notification system. Although social media accounts may not provide completely accurate information, they allowed perioperative staff to prepare for an influx of wounded patients prior to receiving official information from the hospital leaders. By the time individuals arrived at the trauma center, all necessary ORs were staffed and ready.

In terms of emergency preparedness, the timing of the disaster was fortunate. A major shift change was to occur at MGH at 3pm. With the news of the bombings the hospital was able to retain the day shift staff, boosting the 88 scheduled nursing team members to 180. This increased staffing was essential for assisting with patient identification, obtaining blood products, count procedures, and procuring supplies that weren’t readily available.

Overall it seems that emergency services and trauma centers in Boston were very well prepared to handle this disaster. It was fortunate that due to the nature of the event, there were many enforcement agencies and healthcare providers already on site. Being in a well developed metropolitan area helped get people off the streets and out of immediate danger. As for those that were injured, there were adequate volunteers available with the knowledge and skills necessary to properly triage. Once triaged, Boston had the resources and infrastructure necessary to promptly get individuals to appropriate trauma centers for treatment.

I think the environment this disaster occurred in played a very large role in how well it was handled. Had this disaster occurred in a similarly dense area without proper resources or infrastructure, I think there would have been more injuries with worse outcomes.

 

Hemingway, M., & Ferguson, J. (2014). Boston Bombings: Response to Disaster. AORN Journal, 277-288. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2013.07.019.