NASNI Marks Anniversary of Earthquake, Tsunami

The Navy is scheduled to hold a memorial ceremony today at Naval Air Station North Island to mark the third anniversary of the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated  parts of Japan.

The ceremony, hosted by Rear Adm. Patrick Hall, the commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, will take place aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which performed relief operations after the March 11, 2011 quake.

The 9.0-magnitude temblor and tsunami combined to kill around 16,000 people, left another 2,600 missing and and caused a partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Total damage was estimated at $300 billion.

The nuclear disaster, one of the world's worst, sent a radioactive cloud over the Reagan, prompting sailors to take emergency precautions. Nearly 270,000 people remain homeless, the Japan Times reported.

The ceremony will include remarks from the Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles, Jun Niimi, and a short commemoration by the Rev. Kenji Akahoshi of the Buddhist Temple of San Diego.

Members of the local Japanese-American community have been invited to attend. The ceremony is not open to the public.

—City News Service