Remembering 3.11
I'm sorry to anyone who caught that half completed review for about 10 minutes.
I decided that this post was more important than getting a review in on time. I don't know if I can do it justice, but I'll try my best.
Today at 2:46 pm I sat with my husband in the car on the way to class, watching NHK (The Japanese National Broadcasting company) and remembering 3-11. My daughter and son in school and all their classmates also had a moment of silence.
Today is the day, 5 years ago, that a large earthquake occurred in the ocean around Northern Japan, causing the largest tsunami recorded in recent history in northern Japan, as well as lesser but still significant earthquakes all over Japan. Japan is much more prepared for earthquakes and tsunami than other countries. It's building standards are set to withstand strong earthquakes, and there is a warning system that predicts the earthquake and the possibility of tsunami.
The warning system was in place but many of the evacuation spots were not high enough to withstand the unexpected height of the tsunami and many were killed because of this. It is also true that many people did not take the warning seriously, since most of the time it didn't amount to anything. They probably also did not expect it so quickly and went home to get stuff etc. etc.
In cities not hit by the tsunami, the earthquake wrecked havoc on the old buildings not built under the new earthquake standards, cracking walls and huge chunks of wall falling to the ground, causing danger to people rushing out into the streets. Trains stopped and liquefaction occurred in some areas of downtown Tokyo.
The earthquake was very long compared to the usual and quite scary. It started at 14:26 on this day, 2011. I, my husband and Audrey were at home when it hit. Audrey was 3 years old and we were waiting to see if she had gotten into daycare and looking around at kindergartens nearby just in case she hadn't. We were in the bedroom watching TV on our big new TV. I remember my husband rushed over to the TV when the shakes started. But it wouldn't stop and we realized that the quake was much bigger and longer than usual. He then somehow ran over to the front door (next to the bedroom) and opened it - since it wouldn't do to be stuck inside. Audrey and I were crouched in the doorway of the bedroom, since the doorway is a pretty safe place, and we waited it out there.
There was not much serious damage here near our home, but we found out later that the local Costco's ramp to the parking fell on itself and 2 couples got squashed and killed. This was obviously due to some problems in construction. Many people told us however, that even within our condo, things in cupboards fell out and broke in many of the homes on the higher levels. Our condo is built to shake with the earthquake so that it does not break, but that means it shakes A LOT. We were lucky on our floor(the eighth) - nothing serious fell. Not even our large fan-light in the bedroom. Because of the lack of damage, I went to work across the street at three. I couldn't call the classes off, because we could not get paid otherwise. Some children didn't come but, others did and we had class. The school children all had to be picked up at school so hubby went to get the kids.
After the quake, phone lines were overloaded and we couldn't contact anyone. We were lucky because hubby and I both work at home, but many fathers and mothers were stuck downtown and unable to come back home. Some slept in the lobbies of condos, some at the stations where all trains had stopped, some tried to walk home and got exhausted and had to stop half way. For weeks we had trouble getting foods like milk and bread, and gas! because of the stop of transportation systems. The roads had been damaged and trucks could not get through. There were planned blackouts to deal with the lack of electricity (because of the nuclear power plant damage). I remember eating dinner by candle-light once, listening to the radio(generatinng electricity with a little handle, by hand :D)
We gradually found out what had happened in Tohoku - but only through aerials at first. We saw entire cities run over by ocean water as well as the nuclear power station with it's dangerous radiation situation in Fukushima.
The true horror that people went through there we finally found out later as home videos started coming out. On 10 March 2015, a Japanese National Police Agency report confirmed 15,894 deaths, 6,152 injured, and 2,562 people missing across twenty prefectures, as well as 228,863 people living away from their home in either temporary housing or due to permanent relocation. More information about the earthquake and tsunami here on wiki
It has been five years. Some people in these northern prefectures like Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi have been able to build up businesses with the help of government and sponsoring companies and are working to be even more successful than before. Some people had to leave because of the radiation in their district and are trying to build up new lives in new places. But many people have lost so many loved ones and despite the small happiness and of course hardships of their present lives, are still struggling to deal with the loss.
Yesterday, there was a show on TV telling about a telephone box that someone built on the top of a hill in a tsunami area. He had lost a loved one before the disaster and had built the phone box with a phone that wasn't connected to a telephone line, so that he could talk to the loved one he had lost and the wind would carry his voice to the loved one. It came to be called Phone in the Wind or Kaze no Denwa and many people who lost their loved ones in the disaster started coming. People who had not been able to talk about their loss especially because they weren't the only ones and so many people - everyone - around them had also experienced tremendous loss, came to talk to their loved ones in the wind. Some came but could not because it took them back to that awful day.
Another show told us of one of those evacuation spots that was not high enough to protect the people that came, believing that they would be safe there. Finding the tide coming in, they rushed out to climb stairs up the mountain behind it, but the stairs did not go high enough and as one woman who kept climbing over bush and trees survived, her husband and daughter's husband were washed away behind her. When she got up the mountain, she was met by another man who had survived. He told the camera that he told her how good it was that she had escaped, but he could not ask after the people she had lost along the way, he too having lost family. Below is a video of the show.
The first part shows another set of stairs very close by that went to the top of the hill and saved many people, who spent the night at the temple grounds on top of the hill together. The second set of stairs are called the Stairs of Tragedy. You can see how bent the telephone poll is by the stairs, and also the railing. The woman talks about how all she could think was to keep moving. She also talks about seeing people on their roofs below, pleading for help. Again from this video you can see how high the tsunami was - almost to the top of the hills themselves.
Then there is the story of a local city worker, in her twenties, who stayed at the city office to tell people to evacuate over the city's speakerphone, and herself was swallowed up by the tsunami. There were many heros in this disaster. Some who gave their lives and saved many others, and others who lead and urged people to safety. And many many others that helped the homeless people with food, shelter and many little things that are necessary to have a decent life and not just survive. People not just from all over Japan, but from all over the world came to help. I remember hearing of a family in the States that rescued a soccer ball or volley ball or something similar from their beach and sent it back to it's owner in Japan.
For a long time after the disaster, we heard and listened to the difficulties of people in the makeshift homes - especially the older folk, trying to deal with this new life that was thrust apon them, the difficulties of businesses trying to get back on their feet etc. There is still hardship but life goes on and people are finding happiness too. Most of all, they are all still dealing with grief over their loved ones - many not found - washed out to sea or buried in the soil. There is no closure for these people and they continue to pray that the bodies will be found and finally layed to rest.
There was a breakwater here that everyone believed would stop the tsunami, but it was not high enough.
Here is a personal video of the neighborhood watch urging people to run as the tide rushes toward them. I can see two old people disappear behind the buildings that don't make it.
It's really hard to imagine such a large wave - until you see that picture of the boat on top of the building.
So today, we remember and pray.
I decided that this post was more important than getting a review in on time. I don't know if I can do it justice, but I'll try my best.
Today at 2:46 pm I sat with my husband in the car on the way to class, watching NHK (The Japanese National Broadcasting company) and remembering 3-11. My daughter and son in school and all their classmates also had a moment of silence.
Today is the day, 5 years ago, that a large earthquake occurred in the ocean around Northern Japan, causing the largest tsunami recorded in recent history in northern Japan, as well as lesser but still significant earthquakes all over Japan. Japan is much more prepared for earthquakes and tsunami than other countries. It's building standards are set to withstand strong earthquakes, and there is a warning system that predicts the earthquake and the possibility of tsunami.
The warning system was in place but many of the evacuation spots were not high enough to withstand the unexpected height of the tsunami and many were killed because of this. It is also true that many people did not take the warning seriously, since most of the time it didn't amount to anything. They probably also did not expect it so quickly and went home to get stuff etc. etc.
In cities not hit by the tsunami, the earthquake wrecked havoc on the old buildings not built under the new earthquake standards, cracking walls and huge chunks of wall falling to the ground, causing danger to people rushing out into the streets. Trains stopped and liquefaction occurred in some areas of downtown Tokyo.
The earthquake was very long compared to the usual and quite scary. It started at 14:26 on this day, 2011. I, my husband and Audrey were at home when it hit. Audrey was 3 years old and we were waiting to see if she had gotten into daycare and looking around at kindergartens nearby just in case she hadn't. We were in the bedroom watching TV on our big new TV. I remember my husband rushed over to the TV when the shakes started. But it wouldn't stop and we realized that the quake was much bigger and longer than usual. He then somehow ran over to the front door (next to the bedroom) and opened it - since it wouldn't do to be stuck inside. Audrey and I were crouched in the doorway of the bedroom, since the doorway is a pretty safe place, and we waited it out there.
There was not much serious damage here near our home, but we found out later that the local Costco's ramp to the parking fell on itself and 2 couples got squashed and killed. This was obviously due to some problems in construction. Many people told us however, that even within our condo, things in cupboards fell out and broke in many of the homes on the higher levels. Our condo is built to shake with the earthquake so that it does not break, but that means it shakes A LOT. We were lucky on our floor(the eighth) - nothing serious fell. Not even our large fan-light in the bedroom. Because of the lack of damage, I went to work across the street at three. I couldn't call the classes off, because we could not get paid otherwise. Some children didn't come but, others did and we had class. The school children all had to be picked up at school so hubby went to get the kids.
After the quake, phone lines were overloaded and we couldn't contact anyone. We were lucky because hubby and I both work at home, but many fathers and mothers were stuck downtown and unable to come back home. Some slept in the lobbies of condos, some at the stations where all trains had stopped, some tried to walk home and got exhausted and had to stop half way. For weeks we had trouble getting foods like milk and bread, and gas! because of the stop of transportation systems. The roads had been damaged and trucks could not get through. There were planned blackouts to deal with the lack of electricity (because of the nuclear power plant damage). I remember eating dinner by candle-light once, listening to the radio(generatinng electricity with a little handle, by hand :D)
We gradually found out what had happened in Tohoku - but only through aerials at first. We saw entire cities run over by ocean water as well as the nuclear power station with it's dangerous radiation situation in Fukushima.
The true horror that people went through there we finally found out later as home videos started coming out. On 10 March 2015, a Japanese National Police Agency report confirmed 15,894 deaths, 6,152 injured, and 2,562 people missing across twenty prefectures, as well as 228,863 people living away from their home in either temporary housing or due to permanent relocation. More information about the earthquake and tsunami here on wiki
It has been five years. Some people in these northern prefectures like Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi have been able to build up businesses with the help of government and sponsoring companies and are working to be even more successful than before. Some people had to leave because of the radiation in their district and are trying to build up new lives in new places. But many people have lost so many loved ones and despite the small happiness and of course hardships of their present lives, are still struggling to deal with the loss.
Yesterday, there was a show on TV telling about a telephone box that someone built on the top of a hill in a tsunami area. He had lost a loved one before the disaster and had built the phone box with a phone that wasn't connected to a telephone line, so that he could talk to the loved one he had lost and the wind would carry his voice to the loved one. It came to be called Phone in the Wind or Kaze no Denwa and many people who lost their loved ones in the disaster started coming. People who had not been able to talk about their loss especially because they weren't the only ones and so many people - everyone - around them had also experienced tremendous loss, came to talk to their loved ones in the wind. Some came but could not because it took them back to that awful day.
Another show told us of one of those evacuation spots that was not high enough to protect the people that came, believing that they would be safe there. Finding the tide coming in, they rushed out to climb stairs up the mountain behind it, but the stairs did not go high enough and as one woman who kept climbing over bush and trees survived, her husband and daughter's husband were washed away behind her. When she got up the mountain, she was met by another man who had survived. He told the camera that he told her how good it was that she had escaped, but he could not ask after the people she had lost along the way, he too having lost family. Below is a video of the show.
The first part shows another set of stairs very close by that went to the top of the hill and saved many people, who spent the night at the temple grounds on top of the hill together. The second set of stairs are called the Stairs of Tragedy. You can see how bent the telephone poll is by the stairs, and also the railing. The woman talks about how all she could think was to keep moving. She also talks about seeing people on their roofs below, pleading for help. Again from this video you can see how high the tsunami was - almost to the top of the hills themselves.
Click to viewThen there is the story of a local city worker, in her twenties, who stayed at the city office to tell people to evacuate over the city's speakerphone, and herself was swallowed up by the tsunami. There were many heros in this disaster. Some who gave their lives and saved many others, and others who lead and urged people to safety. And many many others that helped the homeless people with food, shelter and many little things that are necessary to have a decent life and not just survive. People not just from all over Japan, but from all over the world came to help. I remember hearing of a family in the States that rescued a soccer ball or volley ball or something similar from their beach and sent it back to it's owner in Japan.
For a long time after the disaster, we heard and listened to the difficulties of people in the makeshift homes - especially the older folk, trying to deal with this new life that was thrust apon them, the difficulties of businesses trying to get back on their feet etc. There is still hardship but life goes on and people are finding happiness too. Most of all, they are all still dealing with grief over their loved ones - many not found - washed out to sea or buried in the soil. There is no closure for these people and they continue to pray that the bodies will be found and finally layed to rest.
There was a breakwater here that everyone believed would stop the tsunami, but it was not high enough.
Here is a personal video of the neighborhood watch urging people to run as the tide rushes toward them. I can see two old people disappear behind the buildings that don't make it.
It's really hard to imagine such a large wave - until you see that picture of the boat on top of the building.
So today, we remember and pray.