Soon 5 years after the earthquake Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture

A landscape view of Ishinomaki city from Hiyoriyama park five years after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on February 11, 2016, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. A few weeks before of the fifth anniversary of 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, the Japanese government announced that the second half of the reconstruction work in the Tohoku area is expected to be concluded before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin. According to the official Reconstruction Agency's website approximately $250 billion were allocated to the first period (2011-2015) and $65 billion more have been set aside for a ''Reconstruction and Revitalisation Period'' starting from fiscal 2016. The Agency also reported that the number of evacuees has decreased from over 470,000 to about 180,000 in the 5 years since the disaster. According to the latest Japanese National Police Agency figures (published on February 10, 2016) 15,894 people died as a result of the earthquake and tsunami and 2,562 are still listed as missing; 6,152 people were injured, and 121,803 properties collapsed. Areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami like Minamisanriku, Kesennuma, Onagawa, and Ishinomaki are in the process of recovery but reconstruction in parts of Fukushima will take much longer due to radiation contamination. (Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin/AFLO)