10 years on from Japan’s triple tragedy: CTBTO and disaster risks

On 11 March, 2011, north-eastern Japan was struck by triple disaster: a huge magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a massively destructive tsunami that killed thousands of people, razed towns and villages and led to a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

With data from its International Monitoring System (IMS), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) played a vital role in the global emergency response.

Designed to detect any nuclear explosion, anywhere on earth, the IMS also reinforces global efforts to reduce disaster risk, including faster tsunami warnings and tracking radionuclides from a nuclear accident.

Read more in this retrospective by Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo.