The tragedy at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami, has been called the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. An evacuation zone up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) around the damaged plant has been declared unsafe to occupy, and former residents of the area have been told that they may never be able to return to their radiation-ravaged homes. Among the several towns expected to be on the blacklist are Futaba and Okuma, which are just two miles from the Fukushima plant.