Like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami , the damage by surging water , though much more localized , was far more deadly and destructive than the actual quake . Entire towns were destroyed in tsunami-hit areas in Japan , including 9,500 missing in Minamisanriku ; one thousand bodies had been recovered in the town by 14 March 2011
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami