No sandbox, no mud pies

AT A GLANCE

A 9.0-magnitude undersea quake hit northeast Japan on March 11, 2011. Its raw force unleashed a towering tsunami that traveled at the speed of a jet plane to the coast. Within minutes, communities were turned to matchwood, and whole families had drowned.

Waves also crashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking reactor meltdowns and explosions, and setting off the worst atomic crisis in a generation.

The crippled plant remains volatile, and experts say the complicated decommissioning process will take decades, as fears persist over the long-term health effects of leaked radiation.

The accident forced tens of thousands to flee from areas around the shattered site. Although no one died as a direct result of Fukushima, about 1,650 area residents died from complications related to stress and other problems following the accident.

A total of 15,884 people are confirmed to have died in the tsunami with another 2,636 unaccounted for. Searchers are still finding human remains.