On the fourth anniversary of the tsunami that resulted in the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Reactors we pause to take stock of the ruins and mark how the Earth reclaims the remains. Before the tsumani on March 11, 2011, this land was farmland. After three years of pumping, this lake was drained, but it is unlikely to ever be fertile again because of the brackish water. While the tsunami was caused by seismic activity, rising global sea levels will make future disasters like tsumanis and hurricanes all the more dangerous.
Hurricane Katrina predated the Fukushima disaster by six years, but the scene today shares many similarities. I've seen this destruction in coastal communities around the globe, a sober reminder that we all share the same ocean and the consequences of its rising waters.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
This was once a residential block along the Fox Beach, but this neighborhood was abandoned after Hurricane Sandy. Only 25 minutes from my home in Brooklyn, it underscores how these disasters are not only occuring in far away New Orleans or Japan but very much in my own community.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
The houses in this community largely withstood the earthquake and tsunami. However, when the nearby nuclear power plant melted down in the storm surge, entire communities abandoned their homes due to fear of the fallout.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
Three years after Hurricane Katrina struck, the ruins of house foundations were all that was left in this low-lying region of the city.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
I was taken by this white picket fence, the ultimate symbol of small-town America, being consumed by nature. This neighborhood hit by Hurricane Sandy is now entirely abandoned—the houses will be destroyed, erasing any human presence. The trees and tall grasses will proliferate as the neighborhood returns to its original state as a wetland, intended to be a barrier as homes further and further inland are threatened.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
A scene of abandonment and rot after the tsunami.
This is New Orleans in the Lower Ninth Ward on the third anniversary of Katrina. While shooting these photographs, sometimes I had the disconcerting feeling of not knowing where I was. I saw similar looking weeds sprouting up through car seats in Japan as I saw reclaiming houses in New Orleans.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
I took this photo in August of 2011—only five months after the tsunami struck and nature was already taking over.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
More from the Fox Beach neighborhood that was obliterated by Hurricane Sandy. There used to be about 180 homes in this area, but it will now be left as a wetland. During the storm, the Oyster Creek Nuclear facility in nearby New Jersey issued an elevated alert because of the dangerously high water. Thankfully, the area was spared a nuclear emergency similiar to Fukushima, but as sea levels rise, the danger does as well.
Jake Price for The Daily Beast
