On Friday March 11, 2011, an earthquake with a 9.0 magnatude hit the east of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. The intensity of the earthquake resulted in tsunami killing an estimated 18,000 people and crippling a nuclear power station. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Tohoku earthquake was "the fourth largest in the world since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings begain 130 years ago."