One of the most profound experiences I’ve had as photographer was the visit and document of the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan in 2011. This earthquake was over 9 on the Richter scale and became the biggest earthquake ever to hit Japan, and the 5th largest in the world. The tsunami wave was sometimes as high as 15 meters and travelled a staggering 10 kilometers inland. It’s hard to imagine that this wave could travel at about 800 kilometers an hour out at sea. So when the force hit the land, it was just unstoppable. The death toll at last count was around 18,000 people that perished in this terrible disaster. I’ve been to many war zones and civil unrest in various parts of the world, but nothing prepared me for the horror and the sheer devastation that struck Japan in that March of 2011.
Kesennuma, Japan, 2011
