THE massive earthquake that struck Japan on Friday March 11 triggered a tsunami which inundated vast areas of the country's eastern seaboard.

Click the sliders on the images below to see how the affected areas looked before and after the tsunami hit, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake and causing thousands of deaths.

This image captured on April 4, 2010, shows Yuriagi, near Muyagi, before the twin disasters. The same image released by GeoEye on March 12 shows Muyagi after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck.

This image taken on April 4, 2010 shows an area of Ishinomaki, Japan. The same image released by GeoEye on March 12 shows a devastated Ishinomaki and the full horror left behind by the disasters /AP Photo/GeoEye

This April 4, 2010 image released by GeoEye shows an area of Natori. The same view taken just one day after the tsunami reveals more devastation left behind.