Japan collectively paused Sunday afternoon to remember the disaster that struck one year ago and the nearly 20,000 dead or missing.

A magnitude 9.0 quake struck off the country’s northeastern coast, unleashing a tsunami at heights not seen in centuries, Coastal areas of many communities were washed out to sea. The disaster also caused the meltdowns of three nuclear reactors. Radiation levels around the Fukushima power plant still are above elevated.