Tsunami damage in Natori, Japan

USGS scientists Bruce Jaffe and Bruce Richmond visited Japan following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. They collected time-sensitive data to help determine the height of tsunami waves at various sites and the distances the waves traveled inland. They studied the transport of sediment and other debris, looked for and measured evidence of subsidence and uplift caused by the earthquake, documented erosion caused by the tsunami waves, and made other observations critical to the better understanding of tsunami impacts and processes. Here in Natori, south of Sendai, Jaffe noted that damage indicated a 10 meter flow depth (depth of the water from the tsunami).