Japan Prepares To Mark One-Year Anniversary Of Tsunami
(credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
In this composite image (top) Akiko Hatareyama digs mud out of what is left of her house in front of a grounded ship on March 21, 2011 and (bottom) the same location as seen ahead of the one year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 8, 2012 in Kesennuma, Japan. A 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake struck Japan offshore on March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm local time, triggering a tsunami wave of up to ten metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan and also damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing the worst nuclear crisis in decades. The number of dead and missing ammounted to over 25,000 people.