Japan’s recovery after a tsunami disaster, after numbers
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) – Ten years after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeast coast of Japan, causing melts at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, much has been done in disaster-stricken areas, but they are still recovering . The numbers show how much progress has been made and what remains.
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9.0 EARTHQUAKE
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was one of the strongest earthquakes on record. It hit the coast at 14:46 and generated a towering tsunami that landed in half an hour.
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18,426 DEAD
The National Police Agency says 18,426 people died, mostly as a result of the tsunami, including 2,527 whose remains were not found. Local authorities regularly search the sea and along the coast to find traces of those still missing. None of the deaths were directly related to radiation.
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42,500 PEOPLE HAVE NOT RETURNED
Nearly half a million people have been displaced in the north-eastern region. Ten years later, 42,565 people, including 35,725 in Fukushima, have not yet been able to return home.
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COST OF 295 BILLION DOLLARS
The government has spent 32 billion yen ($ 295 billion) on recovering the region, including the construction of roads, dams and houses and support for people’s livelihoods. In addition, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the destroyed nuclear power plant, says its costs for decommissioning, clearing evacuees and decontamination of radioactive materials outside the plant will total 21.5 trillion yen ($ 200 billion), although analysts say that he could be far superior.
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2.4% DISCOUNTS
A decade after the disaster, banned areas remain in nine Fukushima municipalities around the destroyed nuclear power plant. The area represents 2.4% of the prefectural area, decreasing from more than 10% in the initial prohibited area. Decontamination efforts, such as removing topsoil and tree branches and washing roofs, have helped reduce radiation levels. But many residents are reluctant to return due to lack of jobs and ongoing radiation concerns.
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14 MILLION TONS OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE
About 14 million tonnes of radioactive soil, trees and other waste from decontamination efforts in Fukushima are packed in a massive number of plastic bags for waste, piled up in temporary storage sites. The bags, enough to fill 11 closed baseball stadiums, are now being transported to a medium-term storage facility built in the two cities hosting the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The government has promised to remove the bags from the prefecture in 30 years, but no final deposit has been set.
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432 KILOMETERS (270 MILES) FROM THE GREAT WALL
Much of the northeast coast of Japan hit by the tsunami was fortified with huge concrete dams of up to 15 meters (50 feet). All the walls have been completed, except for the sections on the east coast of Fukushima. Upon completion, the total length will be 432 kilometers (270 miles). Critics say the walls look like huge cities and block sea views, while posing a potential risk of preventing water from flowing back into the sea if they are violated by a future tsunami.
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4,000 NUCLEAR PLANT WORKERS
About 4,000 workers are employed every day at the damaged nuclear power plant to help decommission it, which officials say will take up to 40 years, a target critic says it is too optimistic. They remove spent fuel rods from cooling tanks, strengthen the dam to protect themselves from future tsunamis, treat radioactive cooling water that leaks from reactors, and remove highly contaminated debris.
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1.24 MILLION TONS OF RADIOACTIVE WATER
Since the disaster, contaminated cooling water has leaked from damaged reactor isolation vessels in the basements of reactor buildings, where it mixes with groundwater. Much of the water is treated and stored in 1,000 huge tanks that now crowd the plant. The operator, TEPCO, says the tanks currently contain 1.24 million tonnes of water and will be full in the autumn of 2022. It says the water and tanks need to be removed to make way for the necessary decommissioning facilities.