Ian Woolverton
2011 japan earthquake
At 14:46 local time on March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the Higashi Nihon Daishinsa, or Great East Japan Earthquake. With a magnitude of 9.0-9.1, this megaquake rumbled for six intense minutes. It unleashed powerful tsunami waves reaching heights of up to 40 metres, inflicting catastrophic damage along the Pacific coastline of Japan’s northern islands.
Japan’s worst ever natural disaster killed at least 16,000 people. Tens of thousands lost their homes.
Witnesses in Onagawa say the tsunami reached at least 15 metres in height, surging one kilometre inland.
One of the most heavily damaged communities was Onagawa. 70 per cent of the town was destroyed.
The World Bank estimated the economic cost at $235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in human history.
827 people died in Onagawa.
In Japan, it is customary for the deceased to be cremated in a Buddhist ceremony. However, due to the overwhelming number of lives lost in the disaster, thousands had to be laid to rest in mass graves.
The tsunami caused a major humanitarian crisis, forcing thousands of families to shelter in evacuation centres that were established in sports halls and school classrooms.
A photograph of a child found along a muddy bank near Onagawa. Save the Children estimate that up to 100,000 children were made homeless by the disaster.
Childhood lost. A child’s toy outside a devastated school in Noribu.
At the time Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said, “In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan.”
Rescue workers from all over Japan joined the recovery effort to clear debris and search for human remains.
Despite the daunting scale of the devastation, the Japanese authorities quickly mobilised thousands of emergency workers to help the most vulnerable people and to begin the clean-up operation.
The Japanese Defence Force joined the tsunami clean up operation, airlifting earth moving equipment, personnel and humanitarian supplies to the worst affected areas.
Despite the tragedy, the Japanese people demonstrated remarkable resilience in response to the disaster.
The story of the Great East Japan Earthquake is ultimately one of hope. Here, selfless relief workers brave freezing conditions to provide aid.
In the midst of this chaos, a message scrawled on a piece of chipboard resonates deeply: “All that lived here are safe.”