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Disaster Affected Areas

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. Magnitude of it was 9.0 - the most powerful earthquake ever measured in Japan. It lasted approximately six minutes. The epicenter was about 130 km (80miles) east of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, at a relatively shallow depth of 24.4 kilometers (15.2 miles). Three prefectures in Tohoku region, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima were devastated. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was destroyed by the 15-meter-high tsunami followed by a series of hydrogen explosions.

How are we going to pass on those lessons to the future generations and what can the world learn from this tragedy? Some objects damaged by the tsunami are preserved as relics of the disaster.

In Rikuzentakata, Iwate, one of the worst affected areas, there is a famous pine tree on the coast, called “Miracle Pine Tree”. It survived the tsunami which engulfed almost the entire coastal area.

In Minamisanriku, Miyagi, 43 people died at the disaster prevention center. Only ten people who were in the center survived. The town once decided to dismantle this building but later changed their decision and to keep it as a symbol of the disaster.

In Tomioka, Fukushima, a police car, wrecked in the tsunami is displayed in a park as a memorial to the victims of the disaster. Two officers who urged residents to evacuate lost their lives.

It is also essential to work out how people learn lessons. Local governments and companies are planning “Study tours”, in which visitors travel through affected areas. Local disaster-Kataribe (storytellers) living in the areas tell their own stories associated with this catastrophe. This will be a valuable experience for all participants to learn the reality of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. It is their mission to continue their activities so that people won’t forget the disaster.