Some 2,000 tons of drifting debris from the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan two years ago have washed up on the shores of North America so far, and estimates are that more than 100,000 accumulated tons will have reached the West Coast by June.
Some 2,000 tons of drifting debris from the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan two years ago have washed up on the shores of North America so far, and estimates are that more than 100,000 accumulated tons will have reached the West Coast by June.The latest estimates, released March 15 by the Environment Ministry, are the result of updated simulation results of tsunami debris set adrift in the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011.The ministry's previous calculations, released in November, were based on wind measurement data taken through June 2012. The latest update is based on data taken through September.The new estimates said an accumulated 30,000 tons will have washed ashore on North America by April, 105,000 tons by June and 221,000 tons by October. The previous projection said only 33,000 tons will have reached North America by June 2013.Many drifting objects are still traveling slowly eastward between the Hawaiian Islands and North America, ministry officials said.The drifting objects are estimated to total about 1.5 million tons. Although some of them will wash ashore in the United States and Canada, winds and tides will drive others back westward and scatter them broadly across the North Pacific, the ministry officials said.