Minamisanriku Cho （南三陸町）

This idyllic town was one of the worst hit areas by the Tsunami.

As people were trying to evacuate by their cars to the hill, the Tsunami was going against the natural flow of the river. On the left of the river, a fire engine was still trying to help cars to escape. Then, the Tsunami swallowed everything in town. One of the buses narrowly escaped the muddy waves.

The next morning, the town was found deep under the water and most of the houses were gone. Only several high concrete buildings were left in the water. On the rooftop, some people managed to survive overnight and were waiting to be rescued.

The mayor of the town was on the rooftop of the three-storey town hall to monitor the Tsunami with 30 people before it had reached them, but when the Tsunami arrived with an unexpected height, 20 of them were immediately wiped away. 10 people including the mayor survived the huge waves by holding onto a steel tower at the top of the building. After the Tsunami, the only remains of the building left was its steel frame.

When he was rescued, he learned that only 7000 people out of town's total population of 17,000 were in shelters. No information has been heard regarding the other 10,000 people.

from: http://hiderinn.de-blog.jp/hatuuri/

This is a happy picture of the people in Minamisanriku Cho before the Tsunami.


Please help the people of Minamisanriku Cho to rebuild their lives by donating via the links on the right.

72 Hours…

72 hours, or 3 full days, is often said to be the time limit for rescuing survivors in natural disasters. The 72 hours have passed since the earthquake, and another night is coming soon.

100,000 members of the police and the Self Defence Guards are searching for survivors in the rubble, in the water, and in the sea. Still, 24,000 people are isolated in 80 buildings, piled under rubble or floating in the water and waiting to be rescued.

This 60 year old man was rescued after floating for three days on the roof of his house drifting in the sea. He only had two bottles of water.

The tsunami struck his home when he and his wife were trying to take something from his home. His wife was washed away by the Tsunami.

Helicopters are flying to rescue people who were left isolated in buildings and locations where ground level approach is not possible.

430,000 people are taking shelter in the Tohoku area, and more than 10,000 people are still missing.

Please donate to help the people who are fighting to survive. Links to charity organizations are on the right.