The 3-year anniversary of Japan's deadly tsunami in one heartbreaking photo

The 3-year anniversary of Japan's deadly tsunami in one heartbreaking photo

At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake unleashed a 10-meter-high tsunami on northeastern Japan. That double disaster swept away entire towns and villages, killing nearly 16,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

In the three years since, Japan has struggled to rebuild the worst hit towns and to clean up radiation from the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. But for those who survived the horror or lost loved ones in the massive wave, the struggle is beyond bricks and mortar. This heartbreaking photo says it all. --Lauren Hansen

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.