Photos: Japan tsunami – one year later

March 11, 2012 marked the first anniversary of the massive tsunami that pummelled Japan, claiming more than 19,000 lives.

The photos below show glimpses of the devastation and damage as well as recovery efforts one year later.

View image in full screen

This combo shows an image (top) taken by a Miyako City official on March 11, 2011 of the tsunami breeching an embankment and flowing into the city of Miyako in Iwate prefecture and the same area (bottom image) on January 16, 2012 nearly one year after the March 11 tsunami devastated the area. (Photo credit: Toru Yamanaka, AFP/Getty Images).

View image in full screen

In this composite image, (bottom photo) the devastated town of Otsuchi is seen prior to the sixth month anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and massive tsunami on September 10, 2011 in Ostuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. (Top photo) The Hamayuri, a catamaran sightseeing boat, sits atop a two-story building among the tsunami debris on April 3, 2011 in Ostuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. (Photo credit: Athit Perawongmetha, Getty Images).

View image in full screen

In this composite image (top) Sigo Hatareyama works to clean out what is left of his house on March 21, 2011 and (bottom) the same location as seen ahead of the one year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 8, 2012 in Kesennuma, Japan. (Photo credit: Chris McGrath, Getty Images)

Global News explores what has and hasn’t changed one year after the tsunami. Click here for infographics detailing radiation levels, the tourism trade in Japan, and more.