Photos: Tsunami damage in Japan, then and now
March 10, 2013
This combination photo taken March 11, 2011, top, and Monday, March 4, 2013 shows an aerial view of Sendai Airport in Natori, Miyagi prefecture. The airport resumed operation only about one month after the tsunami and functioned as the major base of the rescue operation. March 11, 2013 is the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo taken March 17, 2011, top, and Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, shows the luggage claim area at Sendai Airport in Natori, Miyagi prefecture. March 11, 2013 is the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. The airport resumed operation only about one month after the tsunami and functioned as the major base of the rescue operation. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo shows an aerial view of Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture on March 12, 2011, top, and Monday, March 4, 2013. Seen at left is the No. 18 Kyotokumaru fishing vessel that was swept away from a port by the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Japan's progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. Japan observes two years from the disasters which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of the country on Monday, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( CORRECTION Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
The tsunami-devastated Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, is pictured in this combination photo taken March 19, 2011 (top) and March 1, 2013, released by Kyodo on March 7, 2013, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. REUTERS/Kyodo ( JAPAN-TSUNAMI/ANNIVERSARY )
This combination photo taken March 13, 2011, top, and Saturday, March 2, 2013, shows the frames of the Disaster Prevention Office building, center, and its surrounding area in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture. March 11, 2013 is the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. Japan's progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
The tsunami-devastated Miyako in Iwate prefecture is seen in this combination photo taken March 12, 2011 (L) and March 1, 2013, released by Kyodo on March 7, 2013, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. REUTERS/Kyodo ( JAPAN-TSUNAMI/ANNIVERSARY )
The tsunami-devastated Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, is pictured in this combination photo taken March 22, 2011 (top) and March 1, 2013, released by Kyodo on March 7, 2013, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. REUTERS/Kyodo ( JAPAN-TSUNAMI/ANNIVERSARY )
The gymnastic hall of Daiichi junior high school in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, is pictured in this combination photo taken March 12, 2011 (top, acting as an evacuation centre) and March 3, 2013, released by Kyodo on March 7, 2013, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. REUTERS/Kyodo ( JAPAN-TSUNAMI/ANNIVERSARY )
This combination photo taken March 11, 2011, top, and Wednesday, March 6, 2013 shows a coastal residential area in Natori, Miyagi prefecture. Japan next week observes two years from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of the country. Japan's progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination of pictures shows a vehicle (L) sitting on the top of a three-story building in a tsunami hit area of the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi prefecture on March 13, 2011 (L); the same area on January 14, 2012 (C) and on February 20, 2013 (R) after the building was finally demolished. March 11, 2013 will mark the second anniversary of the massive tsunami that pummeled Japan, claiming some 19,000 lives. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS (L) AFP PHOTO / Toru Yamanaka (C) AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (R) ( 517885700 )
This combination of pictures shows people evacuating with small boats down a road flooded by the tsunami in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture on March 12, 2011 (top) and the same area on January 13, 2012 (C) and nearly two years later on February 22, 2013. March 11, 2013 will mark the second anniversary of the massive tsunami that pummelled Japan, claiming some 19,000 lives. JIJI PRESS,TORU YAMANAKA,TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images ( 517885704 )
This combination photo taken March 11, 2011, top, by Kamaishi City, and Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 by Kyodo News, shows a view of Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture. Monday, March 11, 2013 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. Japan's progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo taken April 10, 2011, left, and Friday, March 1, 2013, shows an aerial view of Kamaishi Port in Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture. Monday, March 11, 2013 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. Progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo taken March 11, 2011, top, and distributed by Kamaishi City, and Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 by Kyodo News, shows a view of the harbor area of Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture. Monday, March 11, 2013 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. Japan's progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo shows an aerial view of Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture on April 10, 2011, left, and Monday, March 4, 2013. A sightseeing boat sitting atop a building by the March 11, 2011 tsunami was demolished and taken away while a shipyard which was totally destroyed by the tsunami has resumed its operation. Monday, March 11, 2013 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo shows a view of Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, March 13, 2011, top, and Saturday, March 2, 2013. Monday, March 11, 2013 will mark the 2-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of Japan. Progress in rebuilding from the mountain of water that thundered over coastal sea walls, sweeping entire communities away and killing nearly 19,000 people, is mainly measured in barren foundations and empty spaces. Clearing of forests on higher ground to make space for relocation of survivors has barely begun. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Tsunami Anniversary )
This combination photo taken April 12, 2011 and distributed by Nagatoshi Shimoeda, top, and taken Friday, March 1, 2013, by Kyodo News, shows a street in Futaba in the exclusion zone around the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture. It has been two years since the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan which devastated the northeastern Pacific coast of the country. The meltdowns at the power plant have caused the plant to release radiation into the surrounding air, soil and ocean and displaced about 160,000 people from around the plant. They are uncertain when or if they will be able to return home. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ( Japan Nuclear Tsunami Anniversary )
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