Japan: the day after the earthquake and tsunami - in pictures

Burning houses and ships are piled in a mass of debris amid floodwaters in Kesennuma city Photograph: EPA

Residents walk past houses that were swept aside by the tsunami in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture
Photograph: Reuters

Smoke rises from damaged houses in Sendai Photograph: Jo Yong-hak/Reuters

People are rescued from a building in Kesennuma Photograph: AP

Cracks are seen on snow-covered ground in woodlands near Sendai Photograph: Jo Yong-hak/Reuters

People evacuate in small boats down a road flooded by the tsunami in the city of Ishinomaki Photograph: Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images

Vehicles and rubble in floodwater near Sendai Photograph: Jo Yong-hak/Reuters

Residents of Sendai, who spent the night at a school seen in the background, are helped by rescuers Photograph: AP

People wait for rescue on a rooftop in Iwate prefecture Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

A helicopter flies past Japan's Fukushima No 1 nuclear reactor where an emergency has been declared Photograph: Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters

Cargo containers in Sendai Photograph: Itsuo Inouye/AP

People are evacuated from an emergency shelter at a primary school in Sendai Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

A tsunami-damaged residential area in Soma, Fukushima Photograph: AP

A soldier carries a man to higher ground in Kesennuma Photograph: AP

Evacuees from around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant receive a meal at an evacuation center in Namie Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

A firefighter looks at burnt vehicles at Hitachi port Photograph: AP

A man and child walk through a devastated area in Sendai Photograph: AP