Tohoku Tsunami and Earthquake Aftermath
Japan has been one of the unfortunate victims of Mother Nature’s wrath as seen on the aftermath brought by the tsunami and earthquake that struck its land. Japan suffered the wrath of the strongest earthquake ever recorded with an 8.9 magnitude earthquake. Moreover, the country also suffered a series of ground trembling aftershocks with an average magnitude of more than 5 that sent people panicking in their homes and the streets. Added to that, they have also suffered the fate of a tsunami which was stirred up by the earthquake and aftershocks mentioned earlier. The tsunami rose to 23-feet and the enormous volume of water swept away everything in its path. The epicenter of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake was detected 80 miles of the coastline of Japan. The earthquake’s effects were mostly felt on the Northeastern part of Japan particularly in the Natori city. Luckily, there was no significant damage on Japan’s capital city, which is Tokyo.
The devastation of the tsunami was clearly documented as it was recorded and the videos were fed live during the brink of the tsunami’s devastation. Live video feeds from local news teams showed the devastation of the earthquake and the tsunami as evident in the burning houses in a residential area in Natori city. Also, there were video feeds showing the devastation of the tsunami in Sendai Airport wherein people have sought refuge on top of the airport as they watch the devastation during the wake of the tsunami. There were trucks, cars, ships, boats, and even planes that were swept away by the torrent of the tsunami.
The aftermath of the earthquake is really devastating. The residential areas in the city of Natori turned into mere piles of debris, rubbles, and corpses. The overall death toll from the affected areas is expected to exceed 1,000 according to the Kyodo news agency. Also, the defense ministry of Japan said 1,800 houses were devastated, added the Kyodo news agency. But the most devastating effect of the tsunami and the earthquake came to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, as there are possibilities of a nuclear meltdown as devastating as that of the Chernobyl in Russia. The citizens of Japan are still on a race to prevent a nuclear meltdown as they struggle to flood the cooling systems of the nuclear reactor.