Six months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, how the Japanese disaster zone has been cleared up

By Anna Edwards

Last updated at 12:42 PM on 8th September 2011

Nearly six months after Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, the country devastated by the disaster is gradually beginning to be rebuilt as the resilient Asian people doggedly work to return order to their shattered lives.

Japan was plunged into chaos after the cataclysmic earthquake on March 11 sent a tsunami crashing through towns and cities up and down the east coast, sweeping away entire communities.

The disaster wrecked the nuclear power station near the city of Fukushima, which began to spew out radiation.

But, despite the grief and heartbreak, the resilient Japanese people have slowly but surely begun to repair the damage nature wreaked on their homeland.

Devastation: Onagawa, Miyagi was completely obliterated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami

Clearing up: Onagawa on September 1 as the debris is removed and the operation begins to show results

Ready to start again: Bulldozers clear the last of the wreckage in Onagawa, leaving the site free for rebuilding

The tide of water obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its path. Thousands of people died and hundreds of bodies have never been recovered.

But as the six-month anniversary of the appalling disaster nears, these images show how water has drained away, the debris has been cleared, grass and plants are starting to grow.

Back to business: Ishinomaki has also undergone a remarkable transformation. The picture on the left shows debris of the houses on March 12, the middle picture shows it has almost been taken away on June 3, while the right picture shows calm has almost been restored by September 6

Devastation: These three pictures were taken on March 11 (left), June 3 (centre) and September 1 (right) and show the clean up operation in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, in north east Japan

Finally, determined volunteers and workers are starting to see progress.

Yet despite their hard work people are yet to return to their homes, as they are either completely destroyed or accumulated radiation in the soil and vegetation may make it difficult for some time, perhaps years.

Destruction: The tsunami carried away everything in its path as it roared into Iwanuma, Miyagi, on March 11

Subsiding:  On June 3, parts of the coastal town were still submerged but most of the water has drained away

Green shoots: Pictured on September 6, fields have begun to grow and there is a sense of order being restored

The town of Futaba, which lies 12 miles from the stricken Fukushima plant, looks eerily as if it has been frozen in time, after the community hastily abandoned the area leaving everything behind.

Deserted roads and abandoned possessions show the speed at which people fled, after the plant went into meltdown and started to leak radiation.

Clean up: This sequence, taken over six months, shows the change in landscape in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, in north eastern Japan. The picture on the left was taken on March 12, the central one on June 3 and the right-hand sided image on September 5

Powerful wave: The tsunami swept everything, including these two ships, out of its way. One cargo ship is seen stranded in Kesennuma, Miyagi on the left, while the Asia Symphony cargo ship, which was swept ashore is seen at the port in Kamaishi, Iwate, on the right

Aftermath: Wakabayashi-ward in Sendai, in north eastern Japan, has changed remarkably since it was hit by the tsunami. The picture on the left was taken on March 16, the central image on June 2 and the right picture on September 3

Japan's former prime minister has revealed how he feared a nuclear holocaust worse than Chernobyl in the wake of the tsunami which devastated his country.

Naoto Kan described a nightmare vision of 'deserted scenes of Tokyo without a single man' and the crucial need to evacuate tens of millions of people.

'It was truly a spine-chilling thought,' Mr Kan said in the wake of his resignation amid criticism over his administration's handling of the disaster.

Overcome: Natori is pictured here on March 11 after being completely smothered by the tsunami

Standing solo: Natori, on June 3, had just one house remaining after the clear up operation had started

All gone: By September 6, the beachside house in Natori had been knocked down

He described a spiralling situation where crisis management at the plant failed because the emergency plans did not include a scenario for a total power outage.

Now the country is set to hear if the nuclear power plants could endure another high-impact disaster.

Japanese utilities are due to submit the results of first-stage stress tests for at least one of their reactors to the nuclear watchdog by the end of this month, the new trade minister said on Monday.

Remains of a town: These craters and empty streets are all that is left of Otsuchi, Iwate, after the wreckage caused by the tsunami has been removed

Wave of damage: Cars crushed by the March 11 quake and tsunami are seen in Ishinomaki, Miyagi

Tokyo ordered Japan's power utilities to carry out simulations to test how well prepared their reactors were to withstand the impact of extreme events such as a strong earthquake or a tsunami.

Yoshio Hachiro also told reporters that he shared Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's view that reactors idle after regular maintenance is over should get approval from local authorities and return online before next April.

The earthquake and tsunami, which crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and resulted in a huge radiation leak, heightened public concerns about safety and kept any reactors from restarting.

During: On March 11, the city of Iwaki, Fukushima, was up in flames after the massive earthquake

After: Just six months later, on September 11, the city of Iwaki is quickly being cleared up

Nuclear power provided only 15 per cent of Japan's electricity in July, down from around 30 per cent before the world's worst radiation crisis in 25 years.             

Japan's government is asking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to assess the results of the stress tests, in addition to assessments by nuclear regulators here, to help restore public confidence in existing reactors, Hachiro said.

The trade ministry is requesting Tokyo Electric to submit more data to prove the nuclear operator's view that it was not a magnitude 9 earthquake but the tsunami which caused the blackout, stopped cooling systems and triggered the radiation leak at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, he added.

Clearing up: The debris-scattered heat exchanger buildings of Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant on March 16 (left)  and looking much cleaner on August 29 (right)

Radically different: The seawater heat exchanger building of Tokyo Electric Co's Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant has been transformed since April 2 (left) and looked remarkably different on August 26 (right)

'We'd like such data to help local people to judge the safety of reactors they're concerned about,' Mr Hachiro said. 

Communities around reactors vulnerable to a strong earthquake have been worried that the government's immediate measures against tsunamis would not be enough.           

Japan's economy slipped into recession following the devastation and it shrank 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year.

Brute force: Ships washed into the town of Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi lie surrounded by the wreckage of homes and cars after the tsunami

Clean-up effort: A ship still incongruously high and dry but Higashi-Matsushima is starting to look as it used to, with most of the debris cleared away

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