March 11
TSUNAMI ASSAULT DAY
The Earth shook and the world watched in speechless shock on this day in 2011 as Japan experienced its worst crisis since WWII. TVs around the globe displayed the unimaginable. What was the most powerful earthquake (magnitude 9.0) ever to hit Japan, a country well-prepared for earthquakes and their aftershocks, was not solely the cause of the unbelievable destruction and almost 20,000 deaths that followed. The earthquake, with an epicenter 20 miles under the sea, triggered a tsunami with wave heights up to 133 feet (at Miyako, Iwate Prefecture). No one, not even those who study earthquakes and tsunamis believed that a tsunami could reach such heights, no less travel six miles inland (Sendai area of Japan).
We watched in horror as the waves destroyed more than 125,000 buildings and took houses, factories, cars, animals and people out to sea – never to be seen again. We feared for the lives of those who lived and/or worked in the vicinity of the Fukushima Nuclear Plants as the tsunami caused meltdowns at three reactors. 
Japan was not prepared for such a tsunami. Its force traveled across the ocean causing damage in Hawaii and the Northwest Pacific Coast of the U.S. mainland. No one anywhere was prepared for the enormous cost of life and property and what followed: an economic catastrophe that affected the entire world market.
As tragic as this event was, what is also incredible is the strength and steadfastness of the Japanese people. Just six months later, those areas most severely hit by the tsunami were almost clear of debris, roads were repaired, bridges rebuilt and buildings replaced. And those who live in Japan have a new respect for tsunamis as do all who live in coastal areas. 
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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