Japan marks 14th anniversary of March 11 disastersーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS #shorts

People across Japan are remembering the more than 20,000 lives lost 14 years ago when an unprecedented disaster struck on March 11, 2011. That day, a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s eastern Pacific coast and caused one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents — the effects of which are still felt today. Officials say more than 22,000 people died or went missing. That figure includes deaths that occurred later due to disaster-related health problems or other complications. At 2:46 p.m. a magnitude 9.0 quake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast. It was followed by tsunami – reportedly more than 10 meters high in some areas – that inundated vast stretches of coastline. The Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered meltdowns. The disaster and the accident forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Even now, entry to some areas around the damaged plant is restricted, and over 20,000 Fukushima residents still cannot return. TEPCO and the Japanese government aim to completely decommission the site by 2051.