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2011 IMAGES OF SENDAI AND TOKYO AREAS
EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DAMAGE

MRP Engineering visited Japan following the M9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami as part of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) reconnaissance team. The following images show examples of observed damage.

All photos taken by Mark R. Pierepiekarz.

Scroll over the thumbnails below to see full-size images.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Ishinomaki (Miyagi): Damaged tanks at Port of Ishinomaki. Displaced or overturned steel tanks were common in tsunami inundated areas.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Minami Sanriku (Miyagi): The seismically retrofitted hospital (see external inverted "V" braced frames) survived three minutes of strong ground shaking, followed by 15-meter tsunami. The four story structure was barely tall enough to serve as tsunami vertical evacuation shelter.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Ishinomaki (Miyagi): Low-profile bridges tended to survive the tsunami forces, though extensive debris impact damage was evident.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Sendai Airport (Miyagi): A cargo warehouse was damaged by fire that initiated from a vehicle battery. Tsunami displaced vehicles were a common occurrence.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Minami Sanriku (Miyagi): The three-story disaster prevention building served to announce tsunami warnings. The structure was overtopped by tsunami. Only 10 of 39 roof evacuees survived.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Port of Sendai: Tsunami erosion behind a ship berth and a fuel storage facility (background) damaged by fire.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Sendai (Miyagi): Strong shaking damage to elevator walls in a 1960s reinforced concrete building.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Chiba (Tokyo Metro): Soil liquefaction induced buoyant forces on a pipeline beneath a sidewalk.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Tokyo: Seismic retrofits of elevated railways and highways (column steel jackets) were a common sight in the region.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Uraysu (Tokyo area): The community was developed on reclaimed landfill along Tokyo Bay and experienced extensive soil liquefaction (see uplifted sewer manholes). The hotel in the background was developed on a seismically improved site which performed well.

Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Sendai (Miyagi): Example of a seismic retrofit of an older building in Sendai. The retrofit program (following the 1978 earthquake) was a success during the 2011 earthquake.
Photo: M. Pierepiekarz
Ishinomaki (Miyagi): Tsunami erosion and damage around gas storage facility near the waterfront.

 

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