On March 11, 2011, natural destruction swept across the small island nation of Japan. A massive earthquake and tsunami caused equipment damage that ultimately led to the destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. During the earthquake and tsunami three nuclear reactors were destroyed. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused damage across the island and still 2 years later Japan is struggling to get back on its feet. People were forced to leave their homes and possessions as the Japanese government attempted to repair the damage caused by the tsunami and earthquake. It is not only the country that suffers, but its natives also suffer from normality. The road to recovery is long, but one must look at the steps taken so far to get Japan back to where it once was. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused massive radioactive contamination on land. In April, the Japanese government decided to dramatically increase official “safe” radiation exposure levels from 1 mSv to 20 mSv per year – 20 times higher than the US exposure limit. With this change it allowed the government to minimize the dangers of fallout and avoid the evacuation of many severely contaminated areas. Just a few months later, in November, the Japanese Ministry of Science reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles, however, 4,5000 square miles, almost the same size as Connecticut, had radiation levels that exceeded allowable exposure from Japan. to radiation. The land within 12 miles of the destroyed nuclear power plant, comprising an area of ​​approximately 230 square miles and another 80 square miles located northwest of the plant, were declared too radioactive for human habitation. Inside this evacuation area 310 is est... middle of paper... I recover from this and move on to bigger and better things. Works Cited “Information.” Costs and consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Np, nd Web. 08 October 2013. Hancocks, Paula. “The Fukushima Nuclear Power Mess: Five Big Questions.” CNN. Cable News Network, Nov. 7, 2013. Web. Nov. 11, 2013. “Toll of Radioactive Disasters in Japan: No Dead, No Sick.” NP, June 4, 2013. Web. October 8, 2013. “Much of what you have heard about the Fukushima nuclear accident is wrong.” Slate Magazine. Np, nd Web. October 8, 2013. “Shunned Japanese Fukushima Plant Workers Face Emotional Toll.” ABC News. ABC News Network, August 15, 2012. Web. November 11, 2013."Travel to nuclear contamination zones in Japan." Slate Magazine. Np, nd Web. 08 October 2013.Voigt, Kevin. “TEPCO will begin removing nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima.” CNN. Cable News Network, November 7, 2013. Web. November 11. 2013.