10 years ago, a tremendous earthquake struck the eastern coastline of northern Japan, triggering a tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima nuclear power station and tossing ships, busses, cars and entire houses around like matchwood. Over 15,000 people died, including over 2,500 whose bodies were never recovered, a fact which causes their relatives much unassuaged pain.
March 9th, 2021, an aftershock from that 2011 earthquake rocked Fukushima and surrounding areas. It caused some damage, including knocking over an altar and shrine a parent had put up in his house to honour his daughter who died in the disaster.
It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) in Miyako in Tōhoku’s Iwate Prefecture, and which, in the Sendai area, traveled at 700 km/h (435 mph) and up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. Residents of Sendai had only eight to ten minutes of warning, and more than a hundred evacuation sites were washed away. The tsunami swept the Japanese mainland and killed over 15,000 people… The latest report from the Japanese National Police Agency report confirms 15,899 deaths.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | Wikipedia
Yahoo.jp has a slideshow of photos that capture the tragedy.
