Powerful, Magnitude-9.1 earthquake in Japan triggers global tsunami warnings, including in B.C.

A powerful, Magnitude-9.1 earthquake occurred offshore of the east coast of Honshu, Japan on Mar. 11, triggering a tsunami that washed over the Pacific coastal area of Honshu, Hawaii and prompted a tsunami advisory for the north and central coasts of British Columbia.
The tsunami warning for Canada also covers the outer West coast of Vancouver Island (from Cape Scott to Port Renfrew).
“At this time it is believed that a low level tsunami has been generated that could impact marinas and other coastal infrastructure or create strong currents in harbours and isolated coastal areas,” the B.C. Provincial Emergency Program posted in an advisory bulletin, an upgrade from a tsunami watch. “Local governments in these zones are advised to activate their emergency plans and to immediately evacuate marinas, beaches and other areas that are below the normal high tide mark.”
As of press time, the tsunami risk in B.C. had eased. The height of the waves hitting the affected areas were under one metre tall, officials reported to the Globe and Mail.
The quake, which U.S. and Japanese seismologists say was the fifth-largest tremor worldwide since 1900, triggered a powerful tsunami that swept through the Pacific coastline of Honshu. The quake occurred 103 miles east of the city of Sendai, in Honshu.
In Sendai, several hundred people are reported dead in the hardest-hit areas of the tsunami/earthquake damage. Media footage shows tsunami waters carrying away buildings that are still burning as a result of the earthquake.
The coastal region around the city of Sendai, roughly 300 km north of Tokyo, was hardest hit, according to a statement from Munich Re. The reinsurer’s preliminary view is that the impact of the earthquake in the greater Tokyo area was less significant.
“Munich Re is looking into the effects of the quake and the resultant losses for the insurance industry,” the company said in an online posting. “Since this analysis is very complex, it is far too early to provide any reliable statements regarding the insured losses and Munich Re’s loss burden from the quake.”
Catastrophe modelers AIR Worldwide, RMS and EQECAT did not have an early loss estimate, but AIR Worldwide sent out a release listing the following damages:

Property Damage:

•Building collapses reported in Fukushima prefecture; many collapses in Iwaki-city and Fukushima-city.
•Building collapses reported in Ibaraki prefecture.
•Three buildings collapsed in Kurihara-city in Miyagi prefecture.
•Building collapses in Chiba prefecture’s Narita city.
•Many residential homes washed out by the tsunami in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures.
•Oil tanks were damaged in Miyagi prefecture.
•More than 300 houses collapsed or were washed away in the coastal city of Ofunato.

Fire Damage

•Fire damage in the following prefectures, particularly at chemical plants, nuclear plants and oil refineries: Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Fukishima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa.
•Chiba prefecture: fire and explosion at an oil refinery and fire at a steel plant.
•Kanagawa: fire at a mid-rise building and fire at an industrial facility.
•Fire at one office building in Tokyo.

According to AIR, Earthquake insurance penetration in Japan is relatively low (ranging between 14% to 17% nationwide).
“About 70% of all residential construction is estimated to be of wood and about 25% of concrete,” AIR Worldwide says. “Commercial construction consists of more than 50% concrete, about one-third light metal or steel, and less than 10% wood.
“Residential structures in the region of Japan impacted by today’s quake are generally resistant to earthquake shaking. Some vulnerable structures do exist; they are comprised of non-ductile reinforced concrete frame and heavy wood-frame construction.”