TOKYO (AP) – Ten years after a major earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeast coast of Japan, causing melts at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, much has been achieved in the areas affected by the disaster, but they are still recovering. The numbers show how much progress has been made and what remains.
___
9.0 EARTHQUAKE
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was one of the strongest tremors ever recorded. It hit the coast at 2:46 pm and spawned a gigantic tsunami that hit land in half an hour. A wave of up to 19 meters (62 feet) was recorded in the city of Miyako in the prefecture of Iwate. In Miyagi prefecture, the tsunami swept up to 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) inland. The coast where the tsunami hit stretches for about 400 kilometers (240 miles).
___
18,426 DEAD
The National Police Agency says 18,426 people died, mainly in the tsunami, including 2,527 whose remains were not found. Local authorities still carry out regular searches at sea and along the coast in search of traces of the missing. None of the fatalities were directly linked to radiation.
___
42,500 PEOPLE HAVE NOT RETURNED
Almost half a million people have been displaced across the Northeast region. Ten years later, 42,565 people, including 35,725 from Fukushima, have still not been able to return home.
___
COST OF $ 295 BILLION
The government spent 32 trillion yen (US $ 295 billion) for the recovery of the region, including the construction of roads, walls and houses, and support for people’s livelihood. In addition, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the destroyed nuclear plant, says its costs for decommissioning, evacuating compensation and decontamination of radioactive materials outside the plant will total 21.5 trillion yen ($ 200 billion), although analysts say it can be much higher.
___
2.4% OUT OF LIMITS
A decade after the disaster, no-go zones remain in nine Fukushima counties around the destroyed nuclear power plant. The area is responsible for 2.4% of the city hall’s land, compared to more than 10% in the initial prohibited zone. Decontamination efforts, such as removing the topsoil and tree branches and washing the roofs, have helped to reduce radiation levels. But many residents are reluctant to return because of a lack of jobs and continuing concerns about radiation.
___
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 large number of plastic waste bags stacked in temporary storage sites. The bags, enough to fill 11 closed baseball stadiums, are now being transported to a medium-term warehouse that is being built in the two cities that house the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The government promised to remove the bags from the city hall in 30 years, but a final deposit has not been determined.
___
432 KM (270 MILES) OF SEA WALL
Much of Japan’s northeast coast hit by the tsunami has been fortified with huge concrete walls up to 15 meters (50 feet). All walls have been completed, except for the east coast sections of Fukushima. When completed, the total length will be 432 kilometers (270 miles). Critics say the walls look like giant fortresses and block the view of the sea, while posing a possible risk of preventing water from returning to the sea if violated by a future tsunami.
___
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 goal that critics say is overly optimistic. They are removing used fuel rods from cooling pools, reinforcing a protective wall against future tsunamis, treating radioactive cooling water leaking from the reactors and removing highly contaminated debris.
___
1.24 MILLION TONS OF RADIOACTIVE WATER
Since the disaster, contaminated cooling water has leaked from the damaged reactor containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings, where it mixes with groundwater. Much of the water is treated and stored in 1,000 huge tanks that now fill the plant. The operator, TEPCO, says the tanks currently contain 1.24 million tonnes of water and will be filled in the fall of 2022. She says the water and tanks need to be removed to make room for the facilities needed in the decommissioning process.