NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and the resulting tsunami that devastated Japan and sent shock waves across the Pacific.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. March 11, 2011, 80 miles east of Honshu, with a 7.9-magnitude quake occurring at 3:15 p.m. 36 miles east of Honshu, according to U.S. Geological Survey records.

The larger quake triggered a tsunami that left destruction in three Japanese districts. The earthquake also led to a nuclear disaster for the country when the Fukushima Daiichi facility was damaged, resulting in meltdowns and explosions.

Japan suffered the loss of nearly 16,000 people, with half a million estimated to be homeless, according to the aid organization ShelterBox.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan described it as the worst crisis the country had faced since World War II. “This earthquake and tsunami and also the situation concerning the nuclear power stations are perhaps the hardest hardship that we have experienced after World War II,” Kan said.

The video above by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the tsunami's path and power.

The video below, also by NOAA, shows the path of debris from the tsunami, expected to arrive on California's coast by next March, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The tsunami came across the Pacific, slamming into the West Coast, and resulting in one death and nearly $100 million in public and private-sector property losses up and down California.

The tsunami led to state and federal disaster declarations for the hardest hit areas, including neighboring Mendocino County.

Other areas damaged by the tsunami included coastal portions of Del Norte, Humboldt, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

On Friday officials from the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), the California Geological Survey (CGS) and the Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA) viewed progress by the Santa Cruz Port District in its efforts to recover from the impacts of the tsunami wave surge generated by the Tohoku earthquake.

“Sunday's anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami is a reminder that events thousands of miles away can have an impact on California and other parts of the United States,” said Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci. “Our thoughts are with those in Japan and the United States whose lives were affected by last year's earthquake and tsunami.”

Dozens of tsunamis have hit California's coast since 1800, and a number of them caused damage. Most notably, a tsunami generated by a huge earthquake in Alaska killed 11 people in Crescent City in 1964.

“Tsunamis are relatively rare events, but we have been reminded time and again of the need to be prepared at the state, local and individual level,” said Mark Nechodom, director of the California Department of Conservation, CGS' parent organization. “The most recent reminder came last year, and it has not gone ignored.”

Californians can obtain information about tsunami preparedness by contacting their local office of emergency services or at www.tsunami.ca.gov .