JAPAN: People light over 1,000 candles to commemorate March 11 tsunami and earthquake that sparked nuclear crisis in Japan

Record ID: 216104

  • Title: JAPAN: People light over 1,000 candles to commemorate March 11 tsunami and earthquake that sparked nuclear crisis in Japan
  • Date: 9th March 2014
  • Summary: IWAKI CITY, FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (MARCH 9, 2014) (REUTERS) FIELD WITH ARRANGED CANDLE LIGHTS READING (Japanese): "IWAKI BOND 2014" PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH CANDLES INSIDE METER MEASURING RADIATION IN AIR READING:"0.186" MICRO SIEVERTS PER HOUR VARIOUS OF CHILDREN WALKING AROUND AND LIGHTING CANDLES (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) IWAKI CITY RESIDENT, NORIO HIRUTA, SAYING: "
  • Embargoed: 24th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVAF58JIFTI2FH5YVIM5A1J3X1G
  • Story Text: Residents of the city of Iwaki in Fukushima prefecture lit over a thousand candles on Sunday (March 9) to commemorate the March 11 disasters which happened almost three years ago.
    On March 11, 2011, a massive offshore earthquake sent a tsunami tearing through villages in northeastern Japan, setting off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant that irradiated a wide swath of countryside and forced more than 150,000 people from their homes.

    "My best friend died in the tsunami and I have been dragging that feeling along. I am reminded when that day comes round again every year," said Norio Hiruta who came with his family.
    Small towns across Japan's northeastern coast are rebuilding but far from healing three years since the tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people.

    "We hope that people would not forget about the disasters through this event," said event organizer Yukihiro Kawakami.
    The 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck northeast Japan at 2:46 p.m., triggering tsunami waves as high as 30 metres (100 feet) that swept away residents and their homes.
    Walls of water 13 metres high smashed into Tokyo Electric Power Co's (Tepco) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, knocking out its main power supply, destroying backup generators and crippling the cooling system.
    Three reactors melted down in the world's worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
    The Fukushima Daiichi plant has been brought into a stable state known as "cold shut down" but decommissioning its damaged reactors will take decades and cost billions of dollars. Many of the 160,000 who fled will never be able to return.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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