LESLIE Nembhard says he remembers hearing initial media reports that an earthquake had hit Japan a year ago. He, like many persons, could not have fathomed the magnitude of the destruction.

“Initially, I did not know the extent of it. My hope was that it would not affect the areas where we get vehicles from,” he said.

Nembhard, sales manager at downtown Kingston-based Fidelity Motors — authorised dealers of Nissan vehicles — said the picture soon became very clear.

The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami crippled northern Japan, taking nearly 16,000 lives, with a report of more than 3,000 still missing. The event triggered meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, causing hundreds of thousands of residents to be evacuated. The damage was estimated to cost the country’s economy over $300 billion.

“The devastation was unbelievable. And it affected our operations in Jamaica significantly,” Nembhard told Auto. “Vehicles that we ordered were cancelled. Shipments were almost non-existent. We were badly affected.”

The global fallout was almost immediate as all Japanese automobile manufacturers wilted under Mother Nature’s fury.

Nembhard said Fidelity’s operations are slowly returning to pre-earthquake/tsunami levels.

“The situation has improved greatly. We are now getting most of what we’re ordering,” he said.

Jamaica’s vibrant used-car sector also suffered a stranglehold from the natural phenomenon.

“The earthquake and tsunami happened when the Jamaica’s used-car industry was going through a tough time,” said Lynvalle Hamilton, president of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association (JUCDA). “At that time, we were lobbying to the government for a reduction in importation duties as the Japanese yen was strengthening against the US dollar, making the cars imported more expensive.”

Hamilton — who is principal of used-car company Autochannel — said he knew if the automobile plants were damaged, that would trigger a shortage in motor vehicles and would result in an increase in prices.

“That was my worst fear, and it happened,” he said.

Hamilton explained the Japan disaster caused persons in that market to hold on to their cars longer; that in turn created a shortage elsewhere and sent up the prices.

“Over 10 local used-car dealers had to close their doors temporarily,” Hamilton said.

He said that things are slowly coming back to normal.

“The prices of vehicles, especially the lower-end ones, are declining,” he said.

And, as the world reflects on the anniversary of the tragedy, Nembhard said there are lessons to be learnt.

“The world is a global village and we have come to the realisation in a real way… any major manufacturing country in the world gets hit, Jamaica will feel the effects,” Nembhard said.