Japan earthquake triggers tsunami
Photo 1 of 138
March 11, 2011 - the day the earth shook. On that day, Japan was rocked by what is now being called one of the most devastating quakes in the history of the world.
First came the roar and rumble of the temblor, which shook skyscrapers, smashed furniture and buckled highways. Then the waves came, some as high as 13 feet, rushing onto the shore, whisking away cars and carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields and highways.
The US Geological Survey calculated the initial quake to have a magnitude of 8.9, while Japanese officials raised their estimate to 9.0. Either way it was the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. It was followed by hundreds of powerful aftershocks.
The country now faces a nuclear crisis along with a cascade of swiftly accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
The death toll in Japan's earthquake and the tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverised northeastern coast. Here are some pictures.
First came the roar and rumble of the temblor, which shook skyscrapers, smashed furniture and buckled highways. Then the waves came, some as high as 13 feet, rushing onto the shore, whisking away cars and carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields and highways.
The US Geological Survey calculated the initial quake to have a magnitude of 8.9, while Japanese officials raised their estimate to 9.0. Either way it was the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. It was followed by hundreds of powerful aftershocks.
The country now faces a nuclear crisis along with a cascade of swiftly accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
The death toll in Japan's earthquake and the tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverised northeastern coast. Here are some pictures.
