The March 11 earthquake generated a devastating tsunami that was observed all over the Pacific and caused tremendous devastation locally, including an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

The basaltic shield volcano on the Island of Hawaii is among the most extensively studied volcanoes in the world. The volcano, with its summit caldera, is located on the east flank of giant Mauna Loa. Activity began with a violent explosive eruption in 1790. In the 19th and early 20th Centuries its lava lake eruptions attracted widespread attention. Nearly half of the world's known lava lake eruptions occur here.

At least 2,297 people killed, 8,700 injured, 600,000 people left homeless and about 82,000 housing units damaged by the earthquake and larger aftershocks. Damage estimated at 14 billion U.S. dollars. Maximum intensity (VI JMA) in Nan-touand Tai-chung Counties. Half of a village was lost by subsidence into the Ta-an Hsi and landslides blocked the Ching-shui Hsi, creating a large lake. Two other lakes were created by substantial ground deformation near the epicenter. Surface faulting occurred along 75 km of the Chelungpu Fault. Felt (V JMA) at Chia-i and I-lan; (IV JMA) at Kao-hsiung, Taipei and Tai-tung; (IV JMA) on Lan Yu and Peng-hu Tao; (III JMA) at Hua-lien. Felt strongly in Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang Provinces. Felt (IV) in Hong Kong. Also felt (II JMA) on Iriomote-jima and Yonaguni- jima; (I JMA) on Ishigaki-jima and Miyako-jima, Ryukyu Islands.

Northeastern China. Damage: $5,600 million. The death toll (240,000) was one of largest in recorded history from an earthquake. In addition, around 800,000 were injured. Extensive damage occurred over a wide area.

The tsunami generated by a magnitude 7.9 (Mw) earthquake destroyed 700 boats and 59 houses for a total of $800 million in property damage in Japan (1983 dollars). One hundred and four people drowned in Japan and three drowned in Korea.

On July 12, 1993, a magnitude 7.6 Ms (7.7 Mw) (HRV) earthquake at 13:17 UT in the Sea of Japan near Hokkaido caused a back-arc tsunami that caused damage in all of the countries bordering the Sea of Japan. The earthquake had a rupture length of 150 kilometers, a movement of 2.5 meters and a dip to the east of 24 degrees. The tsunami was 32 meters high on Okishuri, Island, where the most destruction occurred. The whole island subsided by 5-80 centimeters.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed 26 and destroyed 3,018 houses and moderately or severely damaged 9,750 in Niigata prefecture.

Located 25 km from San Jose, Irazu is the highest volcano in Costa Rica and also has the country's earliest historic eruption (1772).

Barcena is on San Benedicto Island, which lies off the coast of Mexico, south of Baja California and west of Mexico City.

On December 12, 1992, a magnitude 7.5 Ms (USGS) earthquake at 05:29 UT occurred in the Flores, Indonesia, region producing a tsunami that reached shore in five minutes. The source was a thrust fault dipping 32 degrees to the south and extending about 110 kilometers from Cape Batumanuk to Cape Bunga. The earthquake and tsunami caused at least 2,080 fatalities or missing people, including 1,490 in Maurnere, Flores, and 700 on Babi Island.