KYODO Kyodo/Reuters
March 2017 marks the six-year anniversary of Japan’s Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, a series of hydrogen explosions that were the worst since Chernobyl.
Though the nuclear disaster itself killed no one, the string of devastating events left more than 18,000 people dead, and over 100,000 people had to be evacuated from the area around the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Below are 10 before-and-after images, taken in 2011 and in 2016, of the areas affected by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the resulting tsunami, and the power plant accident. The images shown on one side were taken shortly after the earthquake and tsunami, while those on the other were taken more recently, after five years of cleanup.
The earthquake started at 2:46 p.m. local time on March 11, 2011. The city of Kesennuma was completely wrecked by the resulting tsunami, bringing many large fishing boats ashore.
KYODO Kyodo/Reuters
It was less than an hour after the earthquake that the tsunami began wrecking havoc on the coast.
KYODO Kyodo/Reuters
Source: Live Science
The city of Natori in Miyagi prefecture was one of the worst-hit cities. Although Japan’s scientists had forecast a smaller quake, there were no predictions made of a tsunami to follow.
KYODO Kyodo/Reuters
Source: Live Science
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