Which 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan?

The Tōhoku earthquake was the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.

The magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, off the coast of the Tōhoku region. It resulted from the Pacific Plate subducting beneath the Okhotsk Plate, commonly described in regional summaries as the North American Plate. The seafloor displacement generated a powerful tsunami.

The tsunami inundated coastal communities and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. More than 18,000 people were killed or remained missing in Japan, with the disaster producing enormous physical and economic losses. The event is also called the Great East Japan earthquake or the 2011 Japan earthquake.

The earthquake was not Japan’s first major disaster, but its combination of extreme seismic energy, coastal exposure, and tsunami impact made it exceptional. Japan’s warning systems issued alerts quickly, yet a warning cannot prevent damage when waves exceed coastal defenses.