About Us
Situation Overview
Scope of Damages
As a result of the disaster, 15,880 people lost their lives and 2,694 are still officially reported as missing, while a further 6,135 suffered injuries. In total, over 315,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
Communities across northeastern Japan suffered extensive and severe structural damage as a result of the earthquake and tsunami, including heavy damage to roads, railways, and airports, as well as many homes being left without electricity, gas and water. In total, over 128,000 buildings were totally destroyed, a further 269,000 buildings suffered severe damage, and another approximately 736,000 buildings partially damaged. (As of February 2013)
In addition, the tsunami triggered the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. To protect residents in areas surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, the government established evacuation zones that required approximately 154,000 people to evacuate from restricted areas.
According to information from the Cabinet Office, the direct financial damage from the disaster was estimated to be approximately 16.9 trillion yen (US$199 billion), with 10.4 trillion of damage to buildings, 1.3 trillion to lifeline utilities, 2.2 trillion to social infrastructure and 3.0 trillion to other areas as of June 2011. The World Bank estimated that the economic cost could reach up to US$235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history.
