Japan Tsunami Anniversary: Photos Capture Heartbreak After Tsunami (PHOTOS)

It has been nearly one year since a monstrous earthquake triggered a tsunami that roared across Japan's coast on March 11, 2011, transforming once-pristine and thriving towns into waterlogged wastelands and sparking the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter-century.

In the last 12 months, some progress has been made in rebuilding lives, but much remains unfinished. Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder, who chronicled the devastated towns in the aftermath of the disaster, has revisited these communities to see what has changed — and what hasn't.

Comments

[Kenz300]

05:11 PM on 03/05/2012

If it weren't for that pesky nuclear disaster and radiation contamination the area would be much farther along in the clean up and the 80,000 evacuees could go back home.

Had Fukishima been a wind farm or solar energy plant the disaster would be over.

The nuclear disaster continues today with no end in sight.

[sfkjeld]

12:17 AM on 03/06/2012

Well said. Fanned.

[Esteman]

12:59 AM on 03/04/2012

We all know that when the tsunami finally hits our west coast we don't want another Katrina situation.
So, do your part please. Go to barackobama.com and donate one dollar.

[Missy Miyashiro]

08:25 PM on 03/02/2012

This brings back the memory of being scared out of my mind, my brother being in Yamaguchi-Ken,Japan, another in Palmer, Alaska (I'm in Hawaii), the phone systems (AT&T crashing) making it difficult to call out, not knowing if they was okay, thinking okay what can I sell to come up with money to fly there if I need to, watching these kinds of horrible pictures and getting more frantic by the minute. THANK GOD just before midnight (Hawaii time, approx 6pm Japan time) he posted on Facebook that he was alright. and no significant tsunami hit Alaska. Oceanic's internet service crashed shortly after midnight but I could at least get some sleep. But I don't think I have ever been that scared in my life.

[WeMustDoBetter09]

11:54 AM on 03/02/2012

So sad...

[Remig Raffanti]

08:52 AM on 03/02/2012