Fukushima 15 years after the nuclear disaster

Fifteen years after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, the plant's three active cores experienced meltdowns following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that reached heights of 130 feet. Seawalls were overtopped, diesel generators were flooded, cooling systems failed, the cores significantly melted within 72 hours, and hydrogen explosions further complicated containment.

The combined events killed more than 18,000 people, destroyed 123,000 houses, and caused $220 billion in damage. More than 100,000 people were evacuated and 2,313 "disaster-related" deaths were recorded among evacuees due to stress and displacement. Some areas have reopened, but towns such as Okuma and Futaba remain largely depopulated: Okuma has seen 1,086 returnees, under 10% of its pre-disaster population, while Futaba's population is 193, only 2.7% of what it once was.

Many buildings still stand abandoned, looking much as they did after the 2011 catastrophe.

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