Apocalyptic scenes in tsunami worst-hit Japan areas

 

 

Leaving Home

Photograph by David Guttenfelder, AP

Path Through Destruction

Photograph by Damir Sagolj, Reuters

A survivor walks his bicycle through the remains of the devastated Japanese town of Otsuchi on March 14.

Published March 15, 2011

Tsunami Boat

Photograph by Yomiuri Shimbun, AFP/Getty Images

A tsunami-tossed boat rests on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on March 14.

Published March 15, 2011

Communication Barrier

Photograph by Yuriko Nakao, Reuters

A mother tries to talk to her daughter, who has been isolated due to signs of radiation at a makeshift facility in Nihonmatsu, Japan, on March 14. The daughter is among people evacuated from the vicinity of Fukushima's damaged nuclear plants.

Published March 15, 2011

Wave of Destruction

Photograph by Mainichi Shimbun, Reuters

A tsunami wave crashes over a street in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan on March 11.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Tearful Reunion

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, EPA

Tsunami survivors embrace to celebrate being alive in the destroyed city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 11.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Miracle of Minamisoma

Photograph courtesy Japanese Defense Forces via Jiji Press/AFP/Getty

On March 13 rescue workers approach Hiromitsu Shinkawa, a 60-year-old man from Japan's Minamisoma City who washed out to sea during the recent tsunami and spent days clinging to a piece of roofing.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Sendai Sunrise

Photograph by Kasahara Katsumi/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

People search through debris at the Sendai airport on March 14, days after an earthquake-triggered tsunami left the Japanese city in ruins.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Cocooned Against the Cold

Photograph by Damir Sagolj, Reuters

Swaddled in blankets, evacuated tsunami survivors try to keep warm in a Japanese Red Cross hospital on March 13.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Broken Road

Photograph by Franck Robichon, EPA

A lone vehicle passes a train overpass mangled by the recent earthquake in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on March 12.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Survivor List

Photograph by Lee Jae-Won, Reuters

A survivor of the recent Japan earthquake reads a list of other survivors in a shelter in Iwate Prefecture on March 13.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Protective Powder

Photograph by Aly Song, Reuters

An emergency worker throws disinfectant powder on the ground around earthquake-damaged buildings in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, on March 14.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Memories Amid the Rubble

Photograph by Alex Hofford, EPA

Coated with mud, a photo album lies amid debris in the earthquake-ravaged town of Natori, Japan, on March 14.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Survivor's Sorrow

Photograph from Asahi Shimbun, Reuters

A woman mourns the devastation of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, in northern Japan on March 13.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Power Plant Ablaze

Photograph by Kimimasa Mayama, EPA

Flames and smoke billow from a petroleum-refining plant damaged by the Japan earthquake in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 13.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Japan Earthquake Victim

Photograph by Gregory Bull, AP

The hand of a man killed by the Japan earthquake juts out of jumbled concrete sea barriers on March 14 in Toyoma, Japan.

Published March 15, 2011

 

Search for Survivors

Photograph from Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images

Japanese troops search for earthquake survivors in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on March 13.

 

Toyoki Sugawara looks out from his destroyed liquor shop where he is collecting any items he can salvage on March 18, 2011 in Kesennuma, Japan. Thousands have been killed as a result of the 9.0 earthquake and consequent tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan six days ago. A potential humanitarian crisis looms as nearly half a million people who have been displaced by the disaster continue to suffer a shortage of food and fuel as freezing weather conditions set in. 18 March 2011 (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

 

A replica of the Statue of Liberty stands amongst rubble on March 18, 2011 in Ishinomaki, Japan. Residents have begun returning to their homes to began the massive cleanup operation caused by a 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake that struck on March 11 off the coast of north-eastern Japan. The quake triggered a tsunami wave of up to 10 metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan. Japan has raised the nuclear alert level as the world watches the crisis unfold at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, damaged during the earthquake.   (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

 

A ship called Asia Symphony is left stranded after being lifted up onto the promenade of the docks by the March 11 quake and tsunami at the port of Kamaishi town in Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan on March 18, 2011. Japan battled a nuclear and humanitarian crisis March 18 as engineers worked to restore power to a stricken atomic plant while the toll of dead and missing from the quake and tsunami topped 16,000. 18 March 2011 (foto by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A general view shows the tsunami-damaged Rikuzentakata, in Iwate prefecture on March 18, 2011. Japan was battling a nuclear and humanitarian crisis on as engineers worked to restore power to a stricken atomic plant, while the toll of dead and missing from the quake and tsunami topped 16,000.   (foto by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A woman checks messages from survivors on a message board at a shelter in Sendai in Miyagi prefecture on March 18, 2011. Japan battled a nuclear and humanitarian crisis on March 18 as engineers worked to restore power to a stricken atomic plant, while the toll of dead and missing from the quake and tsunami topped 16,000. 18 March 2011 JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images

 

A survivor walks through debris in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, where the earthquake and tsunami hit last week, March 18, 2011 REUTERS/Aly Song

 

Before and after satellite pictures 

Minamisanriku, Japan, in 2002 and After 2011 Tsunami

A 30-foot (9-meter) tsunami wave following the March 11 earthquake destroyed the village of Minamisanriku, where up to 10,000 people—60 percent of its population—are now missing

Satellite pictures courtesy Google, GeoEye (2002) and Google, Digital Globe (2011

Before

After

 

Soccer Field in Minamisanriku, Japan, in 2002 and After 2011 Tsunami

Survivors of the Minamisanriku tsunami reported seeing the whole town being pushed into a valley by rising waters.

Satellite pictures courtesy Google, GeoEye (2002) and Google, Digital Globe (2011)

Before

After

Yagawahama, Japan, in 2007 and After the 2011 Tsunami

Damage to roads and infrastructure have prevented rescue workers from accessing much of the hard-hit coastal prefecture of Migayi, where the town of Yagawahama is located, according to Voice of America.

Satellite pictures courtesy Google, Digital Globe (2007) and Google, Geo Eye (2011)

 

Sendai Airport, Japan, in 2003 and After the 2011 Tsunami

In a scene of "utter carnage" on March 11, houses-turned-flotsam smashed into buildings of the once bustling Sendai Airport, reducing it to rubble, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Satellite pictures courtesy Google, Digital Globe (2003) and Google, Geo Eye (2011) 

Yuriage, Japan, in 2008 and After the 2011 Tsunami

Once a "pleasant fishing port," this town of 7,000 has been wiped off the map by the giant wave, according to BBC News.

Satellite pictures courtesy Google, Digital Globe (2008) and Google, Geo Eye (2011)