Japan's recovery from tsunami disaster, by the numbers

TOKYO (AP) — Ten years after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s northeastern coast, triggering meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, much has been achieved in disaster-hit areas but they are still recovering. Numbers show how much progress has been made and what still remains.

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9.0 EARTHQUAKE

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was one of the strongest temblors on record. It struck off the coast at 2:46 p.m. and generated a towering tsunami that reached land within half an hour.

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18,426 DEAD

The National Police Agency says 18,426 people died, mostly in the tsunami, including 2,527 whose remains have not been found. Local authorities still regularly conduct searches in the sea and along the coast for traces of those still missing. None of the fatalities has been directly linked to radiation.

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42,500 PEOPLE HAVEN'T RETURNED

Nearly half a million people were displaced across the northeastern region. Ten years later, 42,565 people, including 35,725 from Fukushima, still haven’t been able to return home.

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$295 BILLION COST

The government has spent 32 trillion yen ($295 billion) for the region's recovery, including construction of roads, seawalls and houses, and support for people's livelihoods. In addition, Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the destroyed nuclear plant, says its costs for decommissioning, compensating evacuees and decontamination of radioactive materials outside the plant will total 21.5 trillion yen ($200 billion), though analysts say it could be much higher.

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2.4% OFF-LIMITS

A decade after the disaster, no-go zones remain in nine Fukushima municipalities surrounding the wrecked nuclear plant. The area accounts for 2.4% of prefectural land, down from more...