The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011 near the east coast of Honshu, Japan with a magnitude of 9.0. It triggered a powerful tsunami with waves reaching heights of over 40 meters that flooded more than 500 km of coastline, destroying towns and killing over 15,000 people. The earthquake and tsunami caused unprecedented damage through building collapses, fires, and challenges with food, water and shelter for survivors, costing over $122 billion to rebuild from.