Earthquake and Japanese Trade Ministry
Part One
Japan’s devastating combination of earthquake and tsunami was a wakeup call reminding companies across the world how much they rely on nature to commerce business. On Friday 11 March 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on Richter scale struck off Japan’s north-east coast of Tohoku which happened at 2:46pm (Alabaster et al. 2011). The massive earthquake was caused due to thrust faulting where rocks placed lower in the earth’s crust get pushed over the overlying layers (Alabaster et al. 2011). After the earthquake, the shadow depth underneath the ocean triggered a major tsunami hazard that reached height of up to 40.5 meters, which later on experienced rapidly after the quake.
The degree and extent of damage caused by earthquake and followed by tsunami were gigantic. On 12 September 2012, Japanese National Police Agency reported 15,883 deaths, 2681 people missing and 6,143 injured as well as 129,225 buildings totally collapsed (Alabaster et al. 2011). Three hundred hospitals in Tohoku were damaged by the disaster, fifteen ports were briefly closed, Fujinuma damp were ruptured, causing flooding and wash away many houses.
Dermot Vibert, a worker in Rio Tinto Japan was in the office during that time and he stated they will have to face many difficulties while recommencing the business. According to Japanese trade ministry, 4.4 million of household were left without electricity due to several nuclear conventional power went offline which completely shut down production at Rio Tinto. Many industries are forced to close down due to lack of critical power supplies. Essential infrastructures such as telecommunication network, water supplies, and financial services are not able to access fully after the Tsunami strike (Allianz 2010).
Besides, the fear of earthquake and worrying for their love ones has tremendously decrease the productivity of the workers. Psychological factor is one of the major issues that stop the company from running. Communication and
Japan’s devastating combination of earthquake and tsunami was a wakeup call reminding companies across the world how much they rely on nature to commerce business. On Friday 11 March 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on Richter scale struck off Japan’s north-east coast of Tohoku which happened at 2:46pm (Alabaster et al. 2011). The massive earthquake was caused due to thrust faulting where rocks placed lower in the earth’s crust get pushed over the overlying layers (Alabaster et al. 2011). After the earthquake, the shadow depth underneath the ocean triggered a major tsunami hazard that reached height of up to 40.5 meters, which later on experienced rapidly after the quake.
The degree and extent of damage caused by earthquake and followed by tsunami were gigantic. On 12 September 2012, Japanese National Police Agency reported 15,883 deaths, 2681 people missing and 6,143 injured as well as 129,225 buildings totally collapsed (Alabaster et al. 2011). Three hundred hospitals in Tohoku were damaged by the disaster, fifteen ports were briefly closed, Fujinuma damp were ruptured, causing flooding and wash away many houses.
Dermot Vibert, a worker in Rio Tinto Japan was in the office during that time and he stated they will have to face many difficulties while recommencing the business. According to Japanese trade ministry, 4.4 million of household were left without electricity due to several nuclear conventional power went offline which completely shut down production at Rio Tinto. Many industries are forced to close down due to lack of critical power supplies. Essential infrastructures such as telecommunication network, water supplies, and financial services are not able to access fully after the Tsunami strike (Allianz 2010).
Besides, the fear of earthquake and worrying for their love ones has tremendously decrease the productivity of the workers. Psychological factor is one of the major issues that stop the company from running. Communication and
References: Alabaster, J., M. Yamaguchi, A. H. Tomoko, and Y. Kageyama. 2011. Japan Earthquake 2011: 8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Hits, 30-Foot Tsunami Triggered. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-earthquake-tsunami_n_834380.html (accessed April 25, 2013). Allianz. 2010. Energy Risks - the dangers of power cuts and blackouts. http://www.agcs.allianz.com/insights/expert-risk-articles/energy-risks/ (accessed April 25, 2013). Armand, V. and J. Daniell. 2012. Japan – 366 days after the Quake 19000 lives lost, 1.2 million buildings damaged, $574 billion. http://earthquake-report.com/2012/03/10/ japan-366-days-after-the-quake-19000-lives-lost-1-2-million-buildings-damaged-574-billion/ (accessed April 26, 2013). BBC. 2013. Earthquakes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/earthquakes_rev5.shtml (accessed April 26, 2013). Investopedia. 2011. The Financial Effects Of A Natural Disaster. http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0311/the-financial-effects-of-a-natural-disaster.aspx (accessed April 27, 2013).