Tsunami
The Survivors' Stories
6 months after the disaster
Koichi Nakamura
Remarkable pictures of one of the worst earthquakes the world has ever
seen. This was east coast Japan just 6 months ago. After the quake, they
knew what would happen next, but no-one could have anticipated the scale
of it. Here we follow the tsunami which killed thousands and rocked the
world's third largest economy, and we track down those swept away by the
wave, who miraculously managed to survive.
Reporter Paul Kenyan talks us through this eye-opening journey.
Central Tokyo feels like it normally does. I've reported from here
before, perhaps there are fewer light this time, they're trying to
conserve electricity.
The quake was felt here, but its epicentre was 200 miles away , off
the north east coast of Japan. We spent three weeks travelling the
disaster zone, 112,000 buildings destroyed, 20,000 people dead or
missing, all in a matter of a few minutes. This is the story of how
Japan coped with destruction and the loss of life it hasn't endured
since the second world war.
It began in Hakedate City, on an island in the far north of Japan. We
met the crew of a coastguard ship who were some of the first to see the
tsunami coming. ^ months ago on the morning of March the 11th, they
dropped anchor in a port on the east coast of Japan.
Then, at 2:46pm Captain Koichi Nakamura tells "There was a very
loud rumbling from the ground, a violent quake that shook the boat up
and down. Seeing the size of the quake and the backwash, I was certain
there would be a tsunami."
But, instead of abandoning ship, they set out from the port to meet
the tsunami head-on. Captain Nakamura "I gave the order to get to
as deep water as possible, to get offshore as fast as possible."
On the radar appeared a thick white line moving towards them. If
they'd stayed in port, the boat would wrecked, this way at least they
had a chance.
Captain Nakamura "In front of the boat, at a height of 10 to 15
metres was a high wall of water, we were heading for something just like
The Great Wall of China."
The wave passes harmlessly beneath them, but the destruction is just
about to begin.
There are several tsunamis, stretching 200 miles and travelling at
speeds of up to 375mph. As they approach the north east coast, they slow
but gather in height. The resort of Mirami Sanrika lay in their path. It
is a town of 18,000 people, famed for its oyster fishing and ocean
views.. The tsunami decimates the town destroying 95% of the buildings
Kengo Sasaki
Kuniko Suzuki
High on a hillside where it was judged no tsunami could ever reach is a
pensioner's retirement home. Kengo Sasaki was one of the staff and he
recalls how he saw the tsunami approach, how he raised the alarm and
tried to evacuate the building. Mayumi Suzuki the daughter-in-law of
Kuniko remembers trying to outrun the wave, "I wanted to run away
with her, but mother-in-law's legs are bad and she told me to go on
ahead. I couldn't leave her behind but, at the same time she must have
made her decision to push me on - go quickly!" Incredibly Kuniko
survived. "I tried to run after them, but my legs were shaking and
I lost my shoes. I fell and was swept away. I could see the roof of a
house coming towards me. I was swept up and ended up on the roof. I have
lived a long time, I must have done something good in my life."
After saving several pensioners, Kengo Sasaki began searching fpr his
wife. "I didn't know where she was and I'd searched for her in the
rubble, but she must have been forced back to where she worked by the
tsunami." She was found, trapped between the machines at the
bath-house where she worked. When, finally, the wave receded, 48
residents were left dead, 19 survived and one is still missing. The town
of Mirami Sanriku, once a bustling port, had been transformed into a
wasteland.
Emergency Centre
This was the Emergency Centre which broadcast warnings across town that
a tsunami was on its way. All that's left of the building is its iron
shell. The woman's ghostly voice is still remembered by the hundreds she
helped save. The woman behind the microphone continued imploring the
local population to evacuate their homes as the sea water surged through
the ground floor and then began to climb through the other floors. She
would have known, of course, that her chances of survival were
diminishing all the time, but this was an act of self-sacrifice. Her
name was Mika Endo. She was 24 years old and recently married.
Aerial Rescue
Mika Endo has become a symbol of the Japanese spirit in all of this,
putting her community before herself. Her colleagues who survived, had
to shin up the aerial on the roof of the 4 storey building. They were
still clinging here when the wave receded.
In the town's hospital, only the fifth storey remained above water,
but there just wasn't enough time for patients on the lower floors to
clamber up there. Out of 107, 71 died.
Even for those who managed to get to a vehicle, there were no
guarantees. The roads out of low-lying areas were jammed. The choice:
abandon your car or hope it would float you to safety. Many drivers did
the latter and drowned.
But, elsewhere there were remarkable stories of survival.
We headed north to the tsunami's furthest reaches. Through areas
still uninhabitable where thousands have been moved to evacuation
centres waiting for their towns to be rebuilt. We were searching a for a
particular remote bay. I had seen some video footage back in the UK. It
didn't look like any of the people were running fast enough to escape so
we've come to the place it was filmed to see if there were any
survivors.
Akiko Iwesaki
Mrs Akiko Iwesaki, a local hotelier, was one of those on the video.
Akiko "First I went up the mountain and got everyone to
evacuate" Then she went back down to warn the others. Mts Iwesaki
took me to the place where the video was shot. On the video you can see
her running with a bag. Akiko "I was wearing these baggy trousers
and Wellington boots. I ran as fast as I could."
She doesn't know hoe close the water is until the last moment. You
can see the wave pick up the bus on the left and spin it towards her.
Akiko "The bus had come up bwsidw mw. I was sure we would make it
as we stepped up." But, she didn't. Mrs Iwesake was dragged under
the water, somewhere beneath the bus. Akiko "I could see a faint
light from above so I swam toward it and reached out my hand and grabbed
on thinking it was a piece of debris. I bumped into the tyre of that bus
and I, frantically, climbed up on the roof. I grabbed onto a bamboo cane
over here on the mountain."
The water reached the third floor of the hotel, but she and everyone
else in the footage survived. Akiko "I think I was protected by the
gods and by my ancestors."
Kenichiro Togawa
But, for some who survived the wave, there was something else to
contend with. An invisible legacy from the nuclear power station on the
coast of Fukoshima. Its sea wall was deigned to withstand a tsunami up
to five and a half metres. This was twice the height. The fllofing
short-circuited cooling pumps. The reactors began, dangerously,
overheating. We managed to track down one of the nuclear workers, on
site at the time.
Kenichiro Togawa "Before the disaster happened, I thought
nuclear power was 100% sefe." 25 hours after the quake, pressure in
reactor number one buit up and it exploded. It was the biggest nuclear
accident since Chenobyl in a country reliant on nuclear power.
Kenichiro "When reactor number one exploded, I was in the middle
of evacuating from my home to the evacuation centre specified by
the town authorities. I was in the car, in a traffic jam."
He didn't know it, but radiation was already leaking from the plant
and those stuck in traffic had no protection.
Kenichiro "I'm prepared, probably for the fact we suffered
radiation exposure." Kenichiro Togawa and his family now live a a
sports centre with other evacuees. He's had medical tests which
show he has been exposed to high doses of radiation, but its children
who are more vulnerable. His youngest wears a radiation monitor at all
times. He's still unsure how much exposure they've already suffered.
Dangerous levels of radiation are still widespread around the Fukoshima
plant. The government's evacuated all towns and villages in a 20km
radius.
The Togawas lived in Namie, well within the exclusion zone. Today
they're going back, only for a couple of hours, its all they're allowed.
Its an operation being overseen by the Japanese military and scientists
of the Red Cross. Dozens of other evacuees have also signed up, despite
the risk. Under heavy escort, they're bussed through the road blocks and
into the exclusion zone. Mr Tagawa is filming the journey for us.
There's an eerie emptiness, deserted fields are overgrown and poisones.
The levels of radiation here are still dangerously high 6 months after
the leak. Kenichiro "We're fleeing, we came just with the clothes
on our back and we didn't have any of the things we needed. I wanted to
go and fetch these things and that why I've returned, despite the risk,
for the sake of the children."
We see their home, still with windows and doors left open. Nothing
has changed, there's no-one here to loot. Mrs Tagawa cxan be heard
calling for the missing cat.
These towns could remain abandoned for generations. All of this has
helped turn Japanese opinion against nuclear power. Of the country's 54
reactors, 43 are currently out of operation.
Tetsuya Tadano
But nowhere has touched the Japanese nation so deeply as the story of
a group of schoolchildren.
A mile away from the sea along the Kitakami river is the town of
Okawa with its long iron bridge. There was a junior school here, right
at the heart of the community. Last year's sports day had pupils aged
between 6 and 12 lined up ready to compete. The school clocks froze at
the time the wave hit. We traced a 12 year old survivor who agreed to
tell us what happened on the day he lost so many friends.
Tetsuya Tadano "When the earthquake happened, first, we all took
cover under the desks. As the shaking got stronger everyone looked
worried. When the shaking stopped the teacher said straightaway, we'll
go to the gymnasium, so we all put on our helmets and went out."
Tetsuya's mum rushed to the school to pick up her children and drive
them to higher ground. Tetsuya "When she arrived at the school it
seemed she wanted to flee with me to higher ground. But, as all the
parents and guardians were lining up she said wait a minute, I need to
fetch something from home, so I handed over my bags and stayed
there."
They lived just down the road, his mother hoped to be back in a
matter of minutes. Immediately after the earthquake, the children were
taken outside and made to sit in lines, then some of the teachers said
it wasn't safe they should go up the hillside. The teachers debated for
about 40 minutes. Another parent wanted to pick up her daughter, but was
trapped at home.
Naomi Hiratsuka
Naomi Hiratsuka "During the entire 40 minutes that followed the earthquake, the children were just sitting there crying in the
playground. After 40 minutes, some of the teachers finally decided to
move the children to slightly higher ground, by the bridge."
But, the decision was too late, as the children walked towards the
bridge the tsunami came staright at them. Tetsuya "When it hit me
it felt like a huge gravitational pull, like someone with great strength
pushing. I couldn't breath, I was struggling for breathe."
Tetsuya was thrown up against the hillside buried up to his waist in
mud and trapped beneath a broken branch. He recalls "When I called
for help, somebody shout 'Where are you Tetsuya?'. Then thwy dug for me
and somehow with my own strength I climbed upwards and was saved."
Tetsuya's little sister, Nina, drowned. His mother who'd rushed home
never made it back to school. Her body was found three weeks later. Out
of 108 pupils ate the school, 74 lost their lives. Naomi's 12 year old
daughter was one of them. In August her body was, finally, found washed
up on a beach seven miles from the school.
A week later Japan held its annual ceremony for the dead - the Oban
Ceremony. This year a nation was united in grief. Naomi along with the
rest of her family, launched a lantern for the spirit of her daughter.
Another 40,000 people are still missing
Each phae of rebuilding these flattened town and cities is being
meticulously mapped out. They think it could take 10 years but, a whole
generation of families has suffered loss that can't be repaired.
Further Reading:
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Catastrophe in
Japan - Gerald K Suttom & Joseph A Cassalli |
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One Year Later -
Elmer Luke & David Karashima |
