big weather events on dec 26 2001 earthquake

However, their warnings went unheeded by officials responsible for the country's earthquake hazard assessments, Live Science previously reported. In the decade before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a handful of Japanese geologists had begun to recognize that a large earthquake and tsunami had struck the northern Honshu region in that year. The areas flooded in 2011 closely matched those of a tsunami that hit Sendai in A.D. But there had been hints of the disaster to come. Nor did they expect such a large tsunami. Japan's scientists had forecast a smaller earthquake would strike the northern region of Honshu, the country's main island.

But Japan's one-two punch proved especially devastating for the earthquake-savvy country, because few scientists had predicted the country would experience such a large earthquake and tsunami. That record goes to the 2004 Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra, a magnitude-9.1, which killed more than 230,000 people. The unexpected disaster was neither the largest nor the deadliest earthquake and tsunami to strike this century. (Image credit: NOAA/NWS) A surprise disaster This map shows the travel times of the tsunami generated by the Honshu earthquake on March 11, 2011.

Big weather events on dec 26 2001 earthquake