“This week's earthquake caused the main island of Japan to shift as much as 13 feet to the east, seismologists say. That may sound like a shocker, but it's just one of the natural changes that come along with an 8.9-magnitude temblor — like the 1.6-microsecond speed-up of Earth's daily rotation and the 4-inch shift in Earth's axis.”
[updated] Also Cathy Rogers forwarded this link with additional details on this topic:
The Seattle Times took a look at the Cascadia Rising final draft report: we failed.
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Seattle, Washington, June 1, 2011 – On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM (local time), the northeast coast of Japan was struck by a magnitude 9.0 (M9.0) subduction earthquake as the boundary between the Pacific and the North American plates ruptured along an offshore section. The rupture extended about 200 miles along the Japan coast, resulting in approximately 100 feet of vertical slip and causing a series of devastating tsunamis. A similar event along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could extend from Vancouver Island to Northern California, affecting western Washington and Oregon communities.
“For the first time in two decades, the world’s costliest natural disasters in 2013 were not in the USA, according to a report released today by Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance firm. Last year, the most expensive weather disasters were in Europe, which included floods in central Europe and hailstorms in Germany.” (USA Today)