Managing post-disaster debris: the Japan experience

In March 2011, a massive earthquake off the north-east coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that created an unprecedented volume of debris. The debris management operation which is currently ongoing along the Tohoku coast is the largest of its kind in the world. In order to share international experiences in disaster debris management and to document the lessons from the Japanese experience, a UNEP international expert team visited the Tohoku area in early 2012.