On March 11, 2011, natural destruction raged 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 two years later, Japan is struggling to get back on its feet. People were forced to abandon their homes and possessions as the Japanese government attempted to repair the damage caused by the tsunami and earthquake. Not only is the country suffering, but its people are also suffering from the return to normal. The road to recovery is long, but it is necessary to examine the steps taken so far to return Japan to where it once was. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami led to massive radioactive contamination on the continent. In April, the Japanese government opted to significantly increase its official "safe" radiation exposure levels, from 1 mSv to 20 mSv per year, 20 times higher than the U.S. exposure limit. This change allowed the government to minimize the dangers of fallout and avoid the evacuation of many severely contaminated areas. A few months later, in November, Japan's Ministry of Science reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles. However, 4,500 square miles, almost the same size as Connecticut, had radiation levels exceeding Japan's permitted exposure. to radiation. Land within 12 miles of the destroyed nuclear plant, covering an area of ​​approximately 230 square miles, and an additional 80 square miles located northwest of the plant, was declared too radioactive for human habitation. In this evacuation zone 310, it's... middle of paper ... I'm bouncing off that and moving on to bigger and better things. Works Cited "About". Costs and consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Np, and Web. October 8, 2013. Hancocks, Paula. “The nuclear power waste at Fukushima: five big questions.” » CNN. Cable News Network, November 7, 2013. Web. November 11, 2013. “Review of radiological disasters in Japan: no deaths, no patients. » Np, June 4, 2013. Web. October 8, 2013. “Much of what you have heard about the Fukushima nuclear accident is false. » Slate Magazine. Np, and Web. October 8, 2013. “Japanese Workers Rejected from Fukushima Plant Face Emotional Fallout.” » ABC News. ABC News Network, August 15, 2012. Web. November 11, 2013. “Traveling to Nuclear Contamination Zones in Japan.” Slate Magazine. Np, and Web. October 8, 2013. Voigt, Kevin. “TEPCO to begin removing nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima.” CNN. Cable News Network, November 7, 2013. Web. November 11. 2013.