PHOTOS: THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI: THREE YEARS LATER

DAILY NEWS

Striking before & after shots show impact of Japanese tsunami three years later

Photo: Kyodo /Landov./ Published: 03/7/2014 11:48:41

 

Three years after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan, see how the area rebuilt and recovered.

The Tohoku tsunami and earthquake: Three years later

Washed-up ships and debris littered an area straddling Higashimatsushima and Ishinomaki in the Miyagi Prefecture on March 14, 2011, three days after the earthquake and tsunami. By March 3, 2014, the area had been rebuilt.
A panoramic photograph shows the Shishiori area of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture in three stages of recovery. The first photo, taken on March 15, 2011, shows rubble covering the ground. The second photo taken just a year and a half later on Aug. 30, 2012, shows the area nearly cleaned up. By Feb. 14, 2014, all the rubble has been removed, and it is difficult to tell the severity of the 2011 damage.

Cars were tipped over in the flooded street in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture on March 13, 2011. The road and surrounding area was rebuilt and functional by March 1, 2014.
 

Smoke rose from the rubble in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture on March 12, 2011. By Feb. 28, 2014, the area had been rebuilt and replanted.

A ship sat on debris in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture while smoke burned in the foreground on March 17, 2011. Three years later, the road had been rebuilt and was full of cars.The Yuriage area of Natori was full of rubble and debris on March 12, 2011, but by March 4, 2014, it was impossible to tell that a natural disaster had ever occurred.
The local disaster response building in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture was reduced to a mountain of rebar and wood on March 13, 2011. By Feb. 28, 2014, it had been partially rebuilt.
Nobiru Station was littered with debris on March 14, 2011. By March 3, 2014, it had been cleaned.