Incredible: After the earthquake in Japan, the coastline receded by... 250 metres
The consequences of the 2024 New Year earthquake in Japan are not only human: in addition to the people injured, dead, or missing and the destruction, the coastline has retreated by 250 metres, according to satellite images. How to explain it?
More than 160 dead, 300 missing, many injured: the earthquake of 1 January, 2024 in Japan , measuring 7.6 on the open Richter scale, in addition to putting an entire country into mourning, had more than human impacts. Specialists in climatic and geological disasters have published astonishing satellite images on the Web comparing before and after the earthquake.
Wider beaches and dry ports!
During this earthquake, coastal areas experienced uplift of up to 4 metres, linked to the movement that occurred along the fault. Moreover, in addition to the multiple aftershocks, a tsunami alert had also been issued. Satellite photos of the coastline of the Noto peninsula revealed by Nahel Belgherze , a specialist in extreme weather events, show a brutal transformation of the landscape .
The earthquake that struck Japans Noto peninsula on Monday was so strong that the coastline has moved up to 250 meters offshore due to significant land uplift. pic.twitter.com/XpxBMLRTUU
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) January 4, 2024
Thus, the coastline has retreated by approximately 250 metres, the equivalent of the length of two American football fields! The consequences are directly visible: the beaches are now much larger and some ports are even completely dry... A completely disrupted landscape must surprise many people, even if the country is used to seismic tremors.
This astonishing retreat of the coastline is directly linked to the nature of the earthquake: it was caused by vertical sliding of the rocks separated by the fault. In other words, one rocky compartment rose above the other, unlike a horizontal slide (like in Turkey in February 2023) where it is a lateral movement on the surface of the rocks.
2011 on everyone's minds...
The fault in question in Japan is almost parallel to the coast: during the earthquake, it was the terrestrial part which rose above the rocky compartment which was offshore. The result is particularly visible in the Kaiso fishing port area, where the mooring area is now fully exposed.
Japan has therefore gained ground on the water, with entire areas of the coastline, formerly underwater, now being exposed. While the search for survivors continues, the Japanese all have in mind the terrible earthquake of 2011 near Fukushima, which caused, in particular because of the tsunami that followed, the death of more than 18,000 people. And everyone fears that it will start again...