--- description: The country assesses the damage from the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that struck March 11 title: The Earthquake's Aftermath image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # The Earthquake's Aftermath by [TIME](/author/time/) Mar 11, 2011 5:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Mar 11, 2011 5:00 AM CUT The country assesses the damage from the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that struck March 11 ### Digging Out  On March 11, northern Japan was slammed by a powerful earthquake that was followed by a gigantic tsunami. Many communities were left in shambles, like Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture, above. Kyodo / Landov ### Patience  Stranded commuters wait for transportation news at Kawasaki station after train services were suspended as a result of the earthquake. Yomiuri / Reuters ### Evacuation Plan  An office worker holds a sign signaling fellow employees where to rendezvous at the front of Shinjuku Gyoen Park in Tokyo. Torin Boyd / Polaris ### Emotion  Japanese women comfort each other in Tokyo's Shinjuku Central Park after being evacuated from their office buildings. Kyodo / Reuters ### 8.9 Magnitute  A monitor shows the seismological curve of the earthquake. DPA / Landov ### Safety Wear  In the hours after the quake struck, a Tokyo girl walks home from school wearing a protective inflatable disaster hood. Jana Press / Zumapress ### Traffic  Hundreds of people wait for buses at a Tokyo terminal after commuter trains stopped their services in the metropolitan area. AFP / Getty Images ### Phone a Friend  Commuters gather at a public phone to make calls; mobile services were lost as a result of the quake. Frank Robichon / EPA ### Locked In  Stranded travelers rest on the floor at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Wally Santana / AP ### Shook  A man sits wrapped in a blanket after being evacuated from a building in Tokyo's financial district. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters ### Grannies in Blankets  Women wait on a Tokyo street after being evacuated. Kyodo / Reuters ### Sold Out  People unable to return to their homes wait to pay for goods in a Tokyo store. Yuriko Nakao / Reuters The Earthquake's Aftermath - Photo Essays - TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056173/the-earthquakes-aftermath/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056173/the-earthquakes-aftermath/"},"headline":"The Earthquake's Aftermath","datePublished":"2011-03-11T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:45:27.014Z","description":"The country assesses the damage from the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that struck March 11","url":"https://time.com/archive/7056173/the-earthquakes-aftermath/","keywords":["LightBox"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/time/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7056173/the-earthquakes-aftermath/","name":"The Earthquake's Aftermath"}}]}] ```