Ishinomaki (Japan), September 11th 2018. A photograph of an archive photo showing the immediate aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the town of Ishinomaki.
The Great East Japan Earthquake was a magnitude 9 undersea earthquake that occurred at 2:46 PM (Japan time) on Friday 11th March 2011, with the epicentre off the coast of Tohoku. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since records exist. The earthquake triggered a tsunami with waves reaching up to 40 metres in height. Nearly 18,000 people were killed. The tsunami also caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents due to radiations hazard.
Note: archive photo courtesy Eiichi Honma, local resident.