Japan in ruins

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit Japan on March 11, unleashing a 10-metre high tsunami that tossed ships inland and sparked fears that destructive waves could hit across the Pacific Ocean. March 11, 2011.

A screen grab taken from CCTV news footage on March 11, 2011 shows a tsunami hitting the shores of Sendai following an earthquake-triggered tsumani.

Ambulances gather outside the Kudan Kaikan hall where the ceiling of a school collapsed in the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo on March 11, 2011.

A lone car rests among the remain of water on a street in Chiba city, suburban Tokyo on March 11, 2011. A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook Japan. March 11, 2011.

Tsunami approaches JR Hakodate train station in Hakodate, northern Japan, March 11, 2011, after a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Japan. An extremely powerful earthquake hit the northeastern Japan region of Tohoku at 2:46 p.m. Friday, March 11 (5:46 a.m. GMT).

People stand by a flooded street caused by tsunami in Hakodate, norhtern Japan, March 11, 2011, after a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Japan.

A screen grab taken from news footage by Japanese public broadcaster NHK on March 11, 2011 shows the refinery plant on fire in Ishihara in Chiba prefecture.

A picture shows an office in disarray after tremors from a massive off-shore earthquake shook the building and knocked over a row of cabinets in Tokyo on March 11, 2011.

A fire is seen in the industrial area in Ichihara, on Tokyo Bay, March 11, 2011, after a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Japan.

Hundreds of people wait for busses at a Tokyo bus terminal as commuter trains stopped their services in the Tokyo metropolitan area on March 11, 2011.

An aerial view shows debris that remained on the ground after a tsunami wave to have hit Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture on March 11, 2011.

People take refuge at the New Tokyo International Airport in Narita, near Tokyo, March 11, 2011.

People receive blankets and food being distributed at the arrival lobby at the New Tokyo International Airport in Narita, near Tokyo, March 11, 2011.

An aerial shot shows vehicles ready for shipping being carried by a tsunami tidal wave at Hitachinaka city in Ibaraki prefecture on March 11, 2011.

Photo shows the remains of a supermarket in Yabuki, in southern Fukushima Prefecture on March 11, 2011.

Houses are destroyed by tsunami floods following the Tohoku Earthquake in near Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, 11 March 2011.

Houses are destroyed by tsunami floods following the Tohoku Earthquake in near Iwaki town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, 11 March 2011

An oil refinery is on fire following the Tohoku Earthquake in Chiba city, Chiba prefecture, Japan, 11 March 2011.

The owner of a ceramic shop checks his damaged wares following the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo on March 11, 2011.

Fishing boats and vehicles are carried by a tsunami wave at Onahama port in Iwaki city, in Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

A factory building has collapsed in Sukagawa city, Fukushima prefecture, in northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

This aerial shot shows houses in flame after being hit by a tsunami at Natori city in Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

Local residents watch the devastation provoked by a tsunami tidal wave smashing vehicles and houses at Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

An oil refinery is on fire following the Tohoku Earthquake in Chiba city, Chiba prefecture, Japan, 11 March, 2011.

A long ground fissure is seen around the perimeter of the Daiei supermarket located on the Nishiguchi side of Japan Railways Yokohama Station in Yokohama, Japan, on 12 March 2011.

Rescue workers from police and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces head to the tsunami-hit area, in the Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 12, 2011.

Local residents walk their way home on a road covered with debris and mud from tsunami in the Wakabayashi Ward in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 12, 2011.

A local resident drives his bike before cars piled-up due to the tsunami generated by the 11 March earthquake in Oarai, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, 12 March 2011.

Fishing boats are seen at Oarai port after being swept by a tsunami in Oarai, some 120 km north of Tokyo, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, 12 March 2011.

An aerial picture dated March 12, 2011 shows Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, after it was hit by a powerful earthquake. Part of nuclear fuel rods was exposed to air. According to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, radiological scientists detected cesium, a radioactive material contained in nuclear fuel rods, around the plant's No. 1 reactor.

Overturned cars amid piles of rubble in a residential area in Oarai, near Iwaki in Fukushima prefecture, Japan 12 March 2011 following the country's worst quake in recorded history.

Residents of low-lying areas of Ecuadoran Crucita town, in Manabi province, rest at a high point after moving there as a precaution of the tsunami generated by Japan's massive 8,8 earthquake, that reached the west coast of South America late Friday, but did not cause any reported damage, early morning 12 March 2011.

Kisenuma residents find a safe vantage point to absorb the immensity of the devastation as crumbled houses and ships are piled in a mass of debris in Kisenuma city, Miyagi prefecture, 12 March, 2011.