Chikako Abe’s desk is decorated with flowers and candy at her school in Minamisoma, a reminder of a 17-year-old life cut short a year ago. Instead of attending a graduation ceremony this month, her family will pray tomorrow at the ruins of a house where the sea snatched away the lives of Chikako, her father and two grandparents.
It's hard to believe that a year has gone by since the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster hit Japan. Oeconomic, cultural, and bureaucratic issues are hampering recovery, but on the other hand, can we really expect any nation to bounce back quickly with such a triple disaster, especially given the lingering uncertainty of radiation?
My thoughts tonight are with the people whose lives were changed forever by this disaster, people who lost family, homes, and livelihoods, and also trust of their government to protect them.
Japan marks 1 year since quake, tsunami disaster
Japan on Sunday was remembering the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the nation one year ago, killing just over 19,000 people and unleashing the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter century.
Along the tsunami-battered northeastern coast, in Tokyo and elsewhere, memorial ceremonies were planned to mark 2:46 p.m. — the precise moment the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit on March 11, 2011.
The quake was the strongest recorded in Japan's history, and set off a tsunami that towered more than 65 feet (20 meters) in some spots along the northeastern coast, destroying thousands of homes and wreaking widespread destruction.
Today, some 325,000 people rendered homeless remain in temporary housing. While much of the debris has been gathered into massive piles, very little rebuilding has begun.
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