Japan 2011 Earthquake: U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Response

Abstract

On March 11, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake jolted a wide swath of Honshu, Japans largest island. The quake, with an epicenter located about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo, generated a tsunami that pounded Honshu's northeastern coast, causing widespread destruction in Miyagi, Iwate, Ibaraki, and Fukushima prefectures. As of May 23, over 15,188 deaths had been confirmed, with 8,742 missing and likely to be included in the final death toll. It appears that the tsunami, rather than the earthquake, caused nearly all the deaths. Entire towns were washed away; over 432,047 homes and 27,019 other buildings, as well as 3,700 roads were damaged or destroyed. With almost 40,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan, the situation was unique in that U.S. forces and associated resources were located in close proximity to deal with the crisis. All services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force - are present in Japan in various capacities. In addition, U.S. forces train regularly with their Japanese Self Defense Force (SDF) counterparts, including many humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises. With over 100,000 SDF troops called up to respond to the disaster, U.S. forces were able to coordinate their efforts almost immediately to provide support for the Japanese responders. Within 8 days of the earthquake, the SDF had deployed 106,200 personnel, 200 rotary aircraft and 322 fixed-wings, and 60 ships. Nearly all of the Maritime SDF ships were transferred to the affected area, and forces from the southernmost to the farthest north territories were mobilized. After rescuing nearly 20,000 individuals in the first week, the troops turned to a humanitarian relief mission in the displaced communities, in addition to supporting activities at the troubled nuclear reactors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 02, 2011
Accession Number
AD1171923

Entities

People

  • Andrew Feickert
  • Emma Chanlett-Avery

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Disasters
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Military Personnel
  • Navy
  • Personnel Management
  • United States
  • United States Pacific Command
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Uss Ronald Reagan
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Educational Psychology
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.