An aerial view shows neighborhoods destroyed by the March 11 tsunami at Natori, in northeast Japan, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Though much of the debris left by the March 11 tsunami has been removed, eight months later there is little sign of rebuilding in communities across northeast Japan.SENDAI, Japan – From 1,000 feet (300 meters) up, the view of the tsunami-battered Japanese seaside communities shows striking progress: much of the rubble, crumpled cars and other debris is gone.
Yet seen from a helicopter Friday carrying Associated Press journalists, there are few signs of rebuilding eight months after the March 11 disaster, triggered by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake off the tsunami-prone coast.
What remains – the stark, gray emptiness where bustling towns once stood – is a sobering reminder of how much work still lies ahead.
On the ground, people living in the tidy rows of temporary houses that dot the surrounding areas say they are frustrated that authorities aren’t moving ahead more quickly with reconstruction plans. They are anxious to rebuild their lives, yet remain uncertain of how to proceed.
“I want to leave this place as soon as possible and move into our own house, but the feeling I’m getting from the banks and government is that’s going to be hard,” said Yuki Numakura, 36, from Natori, near Sendai, who shares a unit with her mother, brother, grandmother and pet dog Seven.