Which of the following statements about the 2011 earthquake off the coast of honshu, japan, is false?

a. more than 120,000 people were killed.

b. the earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 on the richter scale.

c. whole cities and towns were washed away.

d. the earthquake triggered the ukushima accident.

A. more than 120,000 people were killed.

Explanation:

Fortunately, "only" less than 20,000 people were killed.  That's still a lot but a much smaller amount than the 120,000 given in the answer choices.

Yes, it was an earthquake had a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale (although that scale isn't much in use anymore),but Japan is a prepared countries for earthquakes.  Most of the damages were done by the tsunami.

Yes, whole cities were washed away by the massive tsunami waves (up to 40 meters - 130 feet in certain locations, that's as high as a 13-story building!)

Yes, that caused the F ukushima nuclear accident, that will impact the lives of Japanese people for generations to come.