Environment
Disaster History, Brought to You By Google
On Japan's tsunami-battered coast, a new way to remember the devastation.
The road to recovery has not always been easy to navigate in the ruined coastal towns of Northeastern Japan, where the crest of the March 2011 tsunami reached 133 feet. How many storm-ravaged buildings -- out of the one million structures damaged, collapsed or destroyed in the tsunami -- ought to be preserved in remembrance of the disaster?
After a long, emotional debate, the answer increasingly seems to be: not many. For residents coping with painful memories and officials planning reconstruction efforts, to rebuild is to demolish.