To remember will save you…to forget will doom you

That day is now known as san ten ichi ichi: 3/11.

It was incredible to believe that after witnessing the Boxing Day tsunami once again the world was shaken by the scenes unfolding in Japan.

On March 11, 2011, the fourth largest ever recorded earthquake struck. The quake moved the seafloor up over 50m – 90m and sent a wall of seawater over 7km high towards the coast of Japan. In the resulting disaster over 20,000 people were killed or lost as waves over 12 storeys high battered villages and cities. You can see footage of the moment of impact from Skynews.

The earthquake was a classic tsunamigenic rupture. Even the largest earthquake ever recorded (Chile, 9.5 magnitude, 1960) only rose seabeds by 20m.

The displaced seawater travelled towards the Japanese coast at over 800km per hour. 41 mins after the first wave hit Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant, it crowned over a 2.5 breakwater wall of 60,000 concrete blocks. 8 mins later a second wave broke into the compound wall which was 5.7m in height.The site had lost all power. The backup generators had been washed away resulting in no power source cooling the reactors. All that was left was ‘coping batteries’ which only had 8 hours of power.

An ABC veteran Mark Willacy was the North Asia Correspondent when the disaster struck.

In his book “Fukushima” he goes into detail not only about the human story behind the incident but also the political battles and decision-making processes adopted in this once in a lifetime event.

It provides a fascinating background to Japanese politics and after completing a recent Unit in my Emergency Management degree on decision-making under stress, an insightful look into decision making and transparency issues during large-scale disasters. The book includes notes from Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama and documents the decisions and lack of transparency by TEPCO.

The book provides an interesting background into the history of tsunami in Japan, citing the experiences of the village Aneyoshi who suffered two major tsunamis in 1896 in which only 2 people from the village survived and again in 1933 when only 4 people survived. We learn about tsunami stones which are one meter high flat tablets placed by ancestors to remind future generations not to build houses below the tablet as the "happiness of future generations depends on it." The quote inscribed reads: "to remember will save you…to forget will doom you”.

The stories are difficult to read in places especially the case of Okawa Primary school where 74 children died, mainly in part due to lack of decision making by education authorities.

The story of Naomi stands out the most. She is searching for her 12-year-old daughter Koharu Hiratsuka, even gaining a diggers license to operate a mechanical excavator to dig for her daughter under the piles of debris. Sadly Koharus partial remains were found floating in the ocean some months later. The situation in Futaba is also striking. Due to confused communications and poor decisions, the bed-ridden patients were not discovered for over 3 days after the wave hit, covered in their own filth and dehydrated with many having no medical records or identities. Sadly many died.

Mark also describes some of the environmental, social and health effects on the region including how 70,000 pine trees had been washed away with only a solo ‘miracle pine’ remaining. In addition, 969 Fukushima children have been diagnosed with cases of A2 cysts of the thyroid glands as a direct result of the leaks.

Finally, the haunting images as he returns to Rikuzentakata. Willacy describes “the absence of sound…the tsunami had taken away the voice of the community.” (page 142).

This is a fascinating book and as a reader who grew up in the shadow of a nuclear power station, although thankfully not in an earthquake prone region, it is a disturbing example of how poor decision making and planning can have effects that last generations and turn a terrible situation into a catastrophe. About Mark Willacy was the ABC's Tokyo correspondent from 2008 to 2013. He won a Walkley Award for his coverage of the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima meltdowns. His book Fukushima: Japan's Tsunami and the Inside Story of the Nuclear Meltdowns was a finalist in the Walkley book award. Five year update: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-10/ghosts-of-fukushima-mark-willacy-reflects-five-years-on/7227208