A devastating earthquake struck central Japan today with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, triggering mass evacuations – a shocking reminder for the country of the 2011 tsunami disaster.
Just after 4pm local time (7am UK time), a total of 21 quakes with a magnitude above 4.0 occurred today. Videos shared on social media and broadcast on Japanese television showed buildings collapsing in Suzu, a city near the epicenter of the largest quake, with huge cracks in the streets.
Other clips showed terrified shoppers thrown to the ground in department stores and flooding a train station after water pipes burst as tsunami waves began lashing the coasts.
For many it will have been a painful reminder of the tragedy of March 11, 2011.
That day, a catastrophic magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake struck just 45 miles east of Japan for six minutes, sending waves up to 133 feet high and traveling at nearly 440 miles per hour across the country.
The waves had enough energy to travel six miles inland and destroy critical infrastructure, homes and offices on the East Coast.
People walk on a street among the rubble of destroyed buildings in the city of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, in 2011
In 2011, rescue workers stand at completely destroyed houses at a harbor in Rikuzentakada in Iwate Prefecture (state) in northern Japan
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake struck just 45 miles east of Japan for six minutes
When it hit land, it pushed waves up to 133 feet high and traveling at nearly 440 miles per hour
Most of those killed in the disaster were killed by the powerful waves triggered by one of the most powerful quakes ever in history.
About 60 people died in Ohisa, one of the districts directly hit by the tsunami, when 23-foot-high tsunami waves washed ashore and wiped out everything but a tiny shrine.
The subsequent meltdown in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant blanketed surrounding areas with radiation, leaving some towns uninhabitable for years and displacing tens of thousands of residents.
Seawater flooded power grids in the area and destroyed many of the power plant's backup generators.
This meant there was no energy to cool the reactors, resulting in a catastrophic meltdown.
Heat developed and hydrogen gas was produced, which accumulated in the upper part of the tank hall.
When it was ignited, the roof of the tank hall exploded and spread radioactive material everywhere.
Everyone within a 12-mile radius was evacuated, and the tens of thousands of people who fled over fears of radiation are still displaced. Around two percent of Fukushima remains taboo.
Most of Japan's nuclear reactors are still out of service and the government's plans to revive the sector are controversial.
The disaster took a heavy toll on the local and global economy. Insurers were estimated to have to pay out up to $34.6 billion (£27.2 billion), while Japan's central bank was forced to deposit 15 trillion yen (£84 billion) to stabilize global market conditions.
The World Bank estimated the cost of the earthquake and meltdown at the Fukushima power plant at $235 billion. The disaster is believed to have been the costliest in history.
Economists estimated that the aftermath of the 2012 earthquakes caused the Japanese economy to decline by 0.5% in GDP growth.