![]() ![]() In the coming months I look forward to the disaster area so you can share with reconstruction efforts in the area. Perhaps most important are the voices of encouragement. We are told that money is not the only thing what they need. There has been much international aid, at least not in proportion to the magnitude of the disaster (there is a traveling hospital donated by Israeli cooperation). We chatted with the volunteers who are trying to bring joy to a group of children (many of them orphaned, since schools were located in places a little higher). We also visited refugee areas, particularly one located next to a museum (it is astonishing how the ancient people of the Jomon era lived in high places, and this is due to the presence of strong tsunamis several thousand years ago, as they have excavation shown). Growing areas (agriculture is an important economic activity in the area) have been ruined by salt from seawater, desalination and take a long time these soils. Two months later, I am standing in front of what was Minami Sanriku and this view reminds me of the pictures he saw in Hiroshima showing the destruction of the city after the atomic explosion. and exaggerated paranoia of the international press on this issue prevented the competition from thousands of volunteers and rescue workers from around the world, when they were most in need. However, the panic Fukushima radiation resulted in shortages of food, water, batteries, blankets, etc. He quickly organized refugee areas, tents and mobile hospitals. Still, special teams managed to rescue 500 survivors in an impressive display of organization and even acrobatics. It was March, and the Sendai area is particularly cold. Those who survived and were trapped under the rubble and into the car, died later from hypothermia. But the nightmare did not ended there, because of the strength with which the wave back to sea, dragging everything in its path. We could see that the water line reached at least 20 meters, ranging up to 3 miles inland. Notice how before the building was part of a compact urban landscape.Īfter wiping out the village, the tsunami followed the course of rivers. A promontory of 3 m above sea level is the highest point of the city.ĭisaster Prevention Center, before and after the impact of the tsunami. ![]() ![]() Sanriku Minami, a fishing village resort, is located in an elongated plain in the mouth of three rivers, which run by two narrow valleys. Moreover, given the strength of the tsunami, large blocks of those defenses were launched like missiles into the wooden houses that were standing on the shore. Besides, nobody could expect the super wave of 7 m that exceeded the concrete defenses as if they not exist at all. However, the strength of the earthquake made the whole coast to sink up to 1 m. However, due to the accurate forecast of Japanese, the earthquake itself did not cause major human and material losses, despite being 1000 times more intense than that of Haiti.īecause the frequency of tsunamis in this area, given the intricate coastline profile that reverberates water waves, the coast is protected by dikes and barriers up to 4 m. What no one expected since it happens every 1000 years, is a 9 magnitude earthquake, resulting from the breakup of the Pacific plate (Miyagi Oki Jishin). Every 30 years it is expected an earthquake of 7 to 8 magnitude occur in this area (Miyagi Jishin), due to the tension of the Philippine plate. Japan sits atop the Eurasian tectonic plate and is pushed by the Pacific plate and the Philippines. In addition, this post is a testimony to the tremendous strength of Japanese people and their level of response to the emergency, the rescue and cleanup efforts and the first plans of rebuilding the affected areas.Īs it is known, on March 11 a huge earthquake hit Tohoku, northeastern Japan, whose intensity (9.0 on the Richter scale) was the highest in the country's history. One of the main reasons that led us to this site was to known firsthand the level of destruction experienced by Japan and the world seems to have forgotten, overwhelmed by the far less lethal radioactive problem of Fukushima. As much as 95% of the village was destroyed and at least 60% of its population perished (10,000 people). Minami Sanriku is the symbol of the devastation that strucked northern Japan on Ma. ![]()
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