The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan that triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves up to 38 meters tall. Over 15,000 people were killed and over 125,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It also caused nuclear accidents at several power plants, most seriously at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant where residents within a 20 km radius had to evacuate. It was the most expensive natural disaster on record, with damage estimated at over $300 billion.