picture of the day

Then and now

27 Comments

In this combination photo, a ship washed away by the tsunami sits in a destroyed residential neighborhood in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 28, 2011, top, and the same ship sits on the same spot today. A year after an earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country's coastline and killed around 19,000 people, many of the boats carried inland by the wall of water have been removed. But some, like this one, remain -- providing a stark reminder of nature's fearsome power.

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27 Comments
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Okay ... so any plans of removing that boat? Personally, I think that it would take a considerable amount of cash to move it now since the power lines are up, and construction nearby is quite obvious.

Unless they would want to make a museum around the boat ...

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Before-After, after is always good watch any such tv programs in Japan. As for nature's fearsome power it's far smaller than TEPCO's Nuclear Disaster.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

I salute their efforts.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Wow. It's incredible how resilient humanity is. Great pictorial comparison. That tsunami footage remains some of the most extraordinary filmed images I have ever seen. One in particular, shot in a harbor right next to the water that shows the water just spilling over the dock initially and then increasing in intensity over the course of 5, 6, 7, 8 minutes to be a mad torrent that destroys essentially everything before it in a comprehensive destructive force. How anyone survived that was a miracle. That they have rebuilt so quickly is a great testament to the people. I tip my hat to you.

12 ( +10 / -0 )

A legal problem with moving the boats is that they need the permission of the boat owner, because in a situation like this the boat has to be dismantled (cut up), it can't be moved in one piece, which means they lose the boat. Last year they were saying that they couldn't find some of the owners.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's a reminder of the phrase "Time heals all wounds", or at least MOST wounds. Many of those directly affected will never forget, but the young ones will hopefully have only a vague memory of that terrible day. So I would say that some but not all of these boats should remain as a monument to educate them.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

They should keep the ship there to serve as a reminder of how insignificant we are in comparison to the powers of nature

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I have to agree with ElvinSilvan that it would seem a little pointless, and difficult, to remove the ship NOW given that power lines have been put up and what not, so I think they SHOULD keep it as a reminder, if they haven't already decided to do so.

It's an interesting pair of pics. What would make it even more interesting is if they had a "Before, Then, and Now", but I don't suppose someone has by chance a pic of the town before the tsunami from the same angle. Amazing, the powers of nature!

-1 ( +1 / -1 )

Amazing what a difference one year makes. People will, and should never forget, yet so much more needs to be done.

As for nature's fearsome power it's far smaller than TEPCO's Nuclear Disaster.

How so? If it wasnt for the fearsome power of nature the TEPCO disaster would never have occurred.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I do believe removing the power lines temporarily would have been no problem at all.

Yubaru, you couldn't be more wrong. Tepco's operation of Dai-ichi was a powder keg waiting to go off. The "fearsome power of nature" you speak of also hit Onagawa nuclear power plant which did not blow up, not to mention all the other nuclear power plants in the area.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

As for nature's fearsome power it's far smaller than TEPCO's Nuclear Disaster.

19,000 killed/missing in the tsunami. How does that compare to the nuclear disaster?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Interesting pics for sure, as for the boat, clearly not going to move as is then or now, if its moved it will be in pieces

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

19,000 killed/missing in the tsunami. How does that compare to the nuclear disaster?

wish the harmful effects of nuclear disaster are made public now or after a decade even.

-9 ( +0 / -8 )

Which force of nature is more powerful? The raw force of the oceans, or mankind? One can only destroy, while the other can build and create.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The ship should just stay there as a memorial

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I wish there was a third picture showing it before the tsunami. Someone must have one from that view point.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Which force of nature is more powerful? The raw force of the oceans, or mankind? One can only destroy, while the other can build and create.

nice poetic image but what? Oceans build islands everyday, coral reefs and vast ecosystems. Mankind also builds great things everyday. Do you mean mankind is the only one capable of destroying?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

http://danieldiaztecles.blogspot.com/What happened was terrible, we must recognize their ability to rebuild Japan and learn Japanese for possible natural disasters in other countries in the near future. Stunning photos.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"19,000 killed/missing in the tsunami. How does that compare to the nuclear disaster?

wish the harmful effects of nuclear disaster are made public now or after a decade even."

The number killed from the nuclear debacle will be FAT ZERO. so it won’t even compare. The biggest accepted health problem to deal with and deaths so far will be stress/depression related.

That is the view of most of the experts in the world, well the ones that aren't lunatics.

Its surprising with all the coverage of fukushima and not the disaster up the road of the tsunami that people still are asking such basic questions. I guess that why so many panicked and exposed themselves to more radiation by fleeing Japan a year ago because the education and information flow isnt good enough ( it doesn't sell papers) Hope the news focus more on the real disaster areas a year on; like this photo.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

the ships will get turned into hondas eventually.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This ship is a monument which reminds us about power of the Nature.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This ship is a monument which reminds us about power of the Nature.

Nature didn't build the ship, humans did. And for every ship beached by a tsunami, or sunk by a storm, there are hundreds of thousands more that sail around carrying cargo, made by humans, delivered to humans, without issue.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

wonder where all the debris went

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Amazing that the little orange color 2-story house in the lower right hand corner survived...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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