The 9.0 quake and tsunami that hit north east Honshu, on March 11, was the result of the fault line shifting 30 meters (98.4 feet).

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the event started off Miyagi Prefecture with activity stretching 200km (124 miles) north, and then 150km (93 miles) south of Iwate Prefecture.  Next, a 100km (62 miles) section moved off Ibaraki Prefecture.

More simply put: 450km (279.6 miles) of fault line moved a distance of 30m (98.4 feet) in 3 minutes.