Tokyo, Feb 12: The Daily Mail, London has published stunning pictures of how the resilient Japanese rebuilt their country after the deadly tsunami followed a severe earthquake in March last year, eleven months ago.
Images of devastation by tsunami and earthquake gripped the world.
And now after 11 months of tireless rebuilding, these pictures reveal the amazing progress made since those tragic events.
Photographers returned to the scenes of desolation to take these stunning shots that capture the way in which the areas most severely affected have changed.
Houses crumbled either side of this main road in the tsunami-hit area of Ofunato, Iwate but ongoing efforts have cleared the debris - and despite the nearest homes on either side being pulled down, many of the other buildings were salvaged
In March, Yuko Sugimoto was photographed wrapped with a blanket standing in front of debris looking for her son in the tsunami-hit town of Ishinomaki. Below, the same housewife stands with her five-year-old son Raito at the same place
Rubble: Collapsed buildings and rubble in Kesennuma in Miyagi had made this corner impossible to get through but the impressively swift clean up has left the same corner accessible to traffic
Pile up: cars had piled up in front of the airport control tower in Sendai on after the tsunami but has since been totally transformed
The scene in Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture before and after the rebuild operation
All change in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, as seen on March 22, 2011 and January 15, 2012
Rebuild: Cars and even a plane cluttered up the Sendai Airport in Natori, Miyagi but after an intense clean up the fenced off airport is now back in service
More work to do: Back in March last year a rescue worker wades through rubble in the tsunami hit area of Minamisanriku, Miyagi, and although the area has largely been cleared tyres and gas canisters have since been dumped there
Before and after clean-up shots of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture
Residents of the tsunami-hit area of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture seen last March, and this January
The city of Kesennuma is seen after the clear-up last month
A hill overlooking the city of Kesennuma and the same area on January 14 this year
Chaos: In Ishonomaki, Miyagi a boat washed up in to the middle of this street bringing down pylons and buildings and although the building nearest to the camera on the left needed to be pulled down all the other buildings were repaired
Back to normality: Cars are able to come and go through this bridge in Hishonomaki, Miyagi less than a year after a washed up boat prevented anyone from using the road
Major project: A number of areas like this site Natori, near Sendai required large scale operations to clear them of the debris which seemed never ending
In March four people take to the area of Rikuzentakata, Iwate unsure where to begin after it was devastated by rubble but 11 months on the whole area has been cleared leaving just a cross roads in the centre
Amazing transformation after a road is cleared of debris in Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture
