Japan Return to Fukushima Book

Nuclear accidents have been occurring since the 1950s. My first trip to an area devastated by nuclear disaster was that of the biggest one in history, Chernobyl. My next visit to a place destroyed by nuclear tragedy was Fukushima in Japan. Fukushima is a newer nuclear disaster, but was just as devastating as the Chernobyl disaster. A series of equipment failures and nuclear meltdowns occurred on March 11th, 2011 after the Tōhoku earthquake. It reached a level seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale, which has only been matched by the Chernobyl accident. 

 A tsunami caused by the earthquake damaged reactors one, two, three, and four, 50 minutes after the initial quake. The 13-meter wave was just three meters too high and overcame the 10-meter wave gate that the power station had in place. I photographed here because nature is claiming back the buildings that once thrived with life; in years to come, they will be ruins and the photos I have taken on these trips will serve as a historical record of the time that passed after that day. These photos are a reminder of that tragic event and can show those that view them the fragility of human existence. Powers such as this should be treated carefully so as not to allow things like this to happen again.