This month marks the 10 year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. I never wanted to post this archive but I’d figure it would preserve the memory for future generations and provide valuable data that can be used toward subsequent relief efforts, the promotion of disaster prevention and emergency preparedness. The video was filmed at Kamaishi City and documents the day of 3.11, capturing the true terrors of the earthquake and tsunami. This is the raw footage with no commentary. I’ve included English subtitles for international viewers.
Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami
Filmed Location: Kamaishi City
Date: 3.11.2011 / 3.12.2011
Donation Links
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/donate/
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku occurred at 14:46 JST on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku.
It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) in Miyako in Tōhoku’s Iwate Prefecture, and which, in the Sendai area, traveled at 700 km/h (435 mph) and up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. Residents of Sendai had only eight to ten minutes of warning, and more than a hundred evacuation sites were washed away. The tsunami swept the Japanese mainland and killed over 15,000 people, mainly through drowning, though blunt trauma also caused many deaths. The latest report from the Japanese National Police Agency report confirms 15,899 deaths, 6,157 injured, and 2,529 people missing across twenty prefectures, and a report from 2015 indicated 228,863 people were still living away from their home in either temporary housing or due to permanent relocation.
The tsunami caused nuclear accidents, primarily the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, and the associated evacuation zones affecting hundreds of thousands of residents. Many electrical generators ran out of fuel. The loss of electrical power halted cooling systems, causing heat to build up. The heat build-up caused the generation of hydrogen gas. Without ventilation, gas accumulated within the reactor containment structures and eventually exploded. Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and a 10 km (6.2 mi) radius of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated.
Remembering 3.11 / March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake Documentary / 東日本大震災 大津波 2011年3月11日 (東北地方太平洋沖地震)
東日本大震災ドキュメンタリー
WACOCA: People, Life, Style.