On 14 March, a BBC report showed a picture of the town. The report described the city as "almost completely flattened." Reporters could not tell how many people had survived. The city did have tsunami shelters. The shelters were designed to protect people from a wave 3 to 4 meters tall. However, the tsunami of March 2011 was 13 meters high in the city. The wave covered the areas that were supposed to be safe. Local officials estimate that 20% to 40% of the cities people died. "Rikuzen-Takata effectively no longer exists." The city had a 6.5 meter high seawall, but it was not enough. More than 80% of 8,000 houses were destroyed by the tsunami.