Fukushima 6yrs on: Devastating power of Japanese tsunami caught on camera (VIDEOS)
Six years after a tsunami slammed Japan’s east coast, causing three catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant, footage of the natural disaster unfolding is as harrowing today as it was back in March of 2011.
The 9.0 magnitude quake sent shockwaves throughout the nation with a force that moved one of Japan’s largest islands 2.4 meters.
READ MORE: 'Shocking how many people died in Fukushima' – documentary director to RT
The earthquake made a deadlier and more environmentally significant impact on Japan as well. A follow-up tsunami breached the Fukushima Daiichi energy plant’s sea defenses and left more than 18,000 people dead or missing along the east coast.
Subsequent failures of the Fukushima plant’s cooling facilities resulted in a series of nuclear meltdowns that are still far from being cleaned up today. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the former owners of the crippled plant, estimate decommissioning the site will take up to 40 years.
This footage from March 11, 2011 and the tsunami’s immediate aftermath illustrate the destructive power of the deadly catastrophe:
