Editing Tsunami (section)

==Mitigation==
{{see also|Seawall}}

[[File:Tsunami wall.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[seawall]] at [[Tsu, Mie|Tsu]], [[Mie Prefecture]] in Japan|alt=Photo of seawall, with building in background]]

In some tsunami-prone countries, [[earthquake engineering]] measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused onshore.

Japan, where tsunami science and response measures first began following a [[1896 Sanriku earthquake|disaster in 1896]], has produced ever-more elaborate countermeasures and response plans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/international/tsunami-japan/|title=Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center|publisher=Content.hks.harvard.edu|date=2012-05-30|access-date=2012-06-12}}</ref> The country has built many tsunami walls of up to {{convert|12|m|ft}} high to protect populated coastal areas. Other localities have built [[floodgate]]s of up to {{convert|15.5|m|ft}} high and channels to redirect the water from an incoming tsunami.  However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunamis often overtop the barriers.

The [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] was directly triggered by the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]], when waves exceeded the height of the plant's sea wall and flooded the emergency generators.<ref name=":18">Phillip Lipscy, Kenji Kushida, and Trevor Incerti. 2013. "[http://www.stanford.edu/~plipscy/LipscyKushidaIncertiEST2013.pdf The Fukushima Disaster and Japan’s Nuclear Plant Vulnerability in Comparative Perspective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200435/http://www.stanford.edu/~plipscy/LipscyKushidaIncertiEST2013.pdf |date=2013-10-29 }}". ''Environmental Science and Technology'' 47 (May), 6082–6088.</ref> [[Iwate Prefecture]], which is an area at high risk from tsunami, had tsunami barriers walls ([[Taro sea wall]]) totalling {{convert|25|km|mi}} long at coastal towns.  The 2011 tsunami toppled more than 50% of the walls and caused catastrophic damage.<ref>{{cite news|author=Fukada, Takahiro|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110921f1.html|title=Iwate fisheries continue struggle to recover|newspaper=[[The Japan Times]]|date=21 September 2011|page=3|access-date=2016-09-18}}</ref>

The [[1993 Okushiri earthquake#Tsunami|Okushiri, Hokkaidō tsunami]], which struck within two to five minutes of the [[1993 Okushiri earthquake|earthquake on July 12, 1993]], created waves {{convert|30|m|ft|-1}} tall—as high as a 10-storey building. The port town of [[Aonae]] was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1993JAPANOkushiri.html|title=The Earthquake and Tsunami of July 12, 1993 in the Sea of Japan/East Sea|author=George Pararas-Carayannis|website=drgeorgepc.com|access-date=2016-09-18}}</ref>