TSUNAMIJAPAN 03/11/11

CONTENSHere comes the flood by Peter Gabriel

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyr-ics/petergabriel/herecomes-theflood.htmlArticle-Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacif-ic-12709598Article- Powerful quake, tsunami kills hundreds in Japan

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/aponreas/as_jpan_earthquake

when the

FLOODcallsyou have no home

you have no walls”“

capital Tokyo, police said, while TV foot-age showed widespread flooding in the area. One person was confirmed dead. A powerful 10-metre (33 feet) wall of water was reported in Sendai in northeastern Miyagi pre-fecture, media reported after a four-metre wave hit the coast earlier. He-licopter footage showed massive inundation in northern coasta l towns, where floods of black water sent shipping con-tainers, cars and debris crashing through towns. Mud waves were shown racing upstream along the Natori river in Sendai city, blanketing farm fields. In the capital, where mil-lions evacuated strongly swaying buildings, multiple injuries were

reported when the roof of a hall collapsed during a graduation ceremony, police said. Plumes of smoke rose from at least 10 lo-cations in city, where four million homes suffered power outages. Port areas were flooded, includ-

“We were shaken so

STRONGLYfor a while that

HOLDon to something

in order not to

FALL”

we needed to

massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Friday, unleashing a monster 10-metre high tsunami that sent ships crashing into the shore and carried cars through the streets of coastal towns. Many injuries were reported from Pacific coastal areas of the main Honshu island and

the

“waves of steel hurled metal at the sky and as the nail sunk in the cloud, the rain was warm and soakedthe crowds”

ing the carpark of Tokyo Disneyland.“We were shaken so strongly for a while that we needed to hold on to some-thing in order not to fall,” said an official at the local government of the hardest-hit city of Kurihara in Miyagi pre-fecture. The quake, which hit at 14:46 pm (0546 GMT) and last-ed about two minutes, strongly rattled buildings in greater Tokyo, the world’s largest urban area and home to some 30 million people.At least 10 fires were reported in Tokyo, where the subway system stopped, sirens wailed and people streamed out of buildings.Japan sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, which is dotted with volcanoes, and To-kyo is situated in one of its most danger-ous areas. A tsunami warning was issued for Japan, Taiwan, Russia and the Mariana Is-lands, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. “An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours,” the centre said in a statement.It also put the territories of Guam, the Philip-pines, the M The quake sent the Nikkei share index plunging at the close while the yen fell sharply against the US dollar. seismic pressure. The government’s Earthquake Research Committee has warned of a 70 percent chance that a great, magnitude-eight quake will strike within the next 30 years in the Kanto plains, home to Tokyo’s vast urban sprawl.

Thelasttimea“BigOne”hitTokyowasin1923,whentheGreatKantoEarthquakeclaimedmorethan140,000lives,manyoftheminfires.In1855,theAnseiEdoquakealsodev-astatedthecity.In1995Kobeearthquakekilledmorethen6,400people. Morethan220,000peoplewerekilledwhena9.1-magnitudequakehitoffIndonesiain2004,unleashingamassivetsunamithatdevastatedcoastlinesincountriesaroundtheIndianOceanasfarawayasAfrica.SmallquakesarefelteverydaysomewhereinJapanandpeopletakepartinregulardrillsatschoolsandworkplacestoprepareforacalam-ity. Nuclearpowerplantsandbullettrainsaredesignedtoautomaticallyshutdownwhentheearthrumblesandmanybuildingshavebeenquake-proofedwithsteelandferro-con-creteatgreatcostinrecentdecades. Theviolentwallofwatersweptaway

houses,carsandships.Firesburnedoutofcontrol.Powertoacoolingsystematanuclearpowerplantwasknockedout,forcingthou-sandstoflee.Aboatwascaughtinthevortexofawhirlpoolatsea. Thedeathtollrosesteadilythroughouttheday,butthetrueextentofthedisasterwasnotknownbecauseroadstotheworst-hitareaswerewashedawayorblockedbydebrisandairportswereclosed. PresidentBarackObamapledgedU.S.assistancefollowingwhathecalledapoten-tially“catastrophic”disaster.HesaidoneU.S.aircraftcarrierisalreadyinJapanandasec-ondwasonitsway.AU.S.shipwasalsohead-ingtotheMarianasIslandstoassistasneeded,headded. TheentirePacifichadbeenputonalert—includingcoastalareasofSouthAmerica,CanadaandAlaska—butwaveswerenotasbadasexpected.

die”“I thoughtIwas

goingto

Themagnitude-8.9offshorequakestruckat2:46p.m.localtimeandwasthebiggesttohitJapansincerecord-keepingbeganinthelate1800s.Itrankedasthefifth-largestearthquakeintheworldsince1900andwasnearly8,000timesstrongerthanonethatdevastatedChristchurch,NewZealand,lastmonth,scientistssaid.Thequakeshookdozensofcitiesandvillagesalonga1,300-mile(2,100-kilometer)stretchofcoastandtallbuildingsswayedinTokyo,hundredsofmilesfromtheepicenter.PrimeMinisterNaotoKanwasattend-ingaparliamentarysessionatthetime.“IthoughtIwasgoingtodie,”saidTokyomarketingemployeeKotoFujikawa.“Itfeltlikethewholestructurewascollapsing.”Fujikawa,28,wasridingamonorailwhenthequakehitandhadtolaterpickherwayalongnar-row,elevatedtrackstotheneareststation.Minuteslater,theearthquakeunleasheda23-foot(seven-meter)tsunamialongthenorth-easterncoastofJapannearthecoastalcityofSendaiinMiyagiprefecture.Thequakewasfollowedforhoursbyaftershocks.TheU.S.GeologicalSurveysaid124weredetectedoffJapan’smainislandofHonshu,111ofthemofmagnitude5.0orgreater.Largefishingboatsandothervesselsrodethehighwavesashore,slammingagainstoverpassesorscrapingunderthemandsnappingpowerlinesalongtheway.Afleetofpartiallysubmergedcarsbobbedinthewater.Shipsanchoredinportscrashedagainsteachother.Thetsunamiroaredoverembankments,washinganythinginitspathinlandbeforereversingdirectionandcarryingthecars,homesandotherdebrisouttosea.Flamesshotfromsomeofthehomes,apparentlyfromburstgaspipes.WavesofmuddywatersflowedoverfarmsnearSendai,carryingbuildings,someofthemablaze.Driversattemptedtoflee.ThetarmacatSendai’sairportwasinundatedwiththick,muddydebristhatincludedcars,trucks,busesandevenlightplanes.Highwaystotheworst-hitcoastalareasbuckled.Telephonelinessnapped.TrainservicewassuspendedinnortheasternJapanandinTokyo,whichnormallyserves10millionpeopleaday.Untoldnumbersofpeoplewerestrandedinstationsorroam-ingthestreets.Tokyo’sNaritaairportwasclosedindefinitely.

Policesaid

200-300bod-ieswerefound

inSendai,al-thoughtheofficial

casualtytollwas185killed,741miss-

ingand948injured.Ashipwith80dock

workerswassweptawayfromashipyardinMiyagi.

Allontheshipwasbelievedtobesafe,althoughthevessel

hadsprungaleakandwastak-ingonsomewater,Japan’scoast

guardsaid.InthecoastaltownofMinami-soma,

about1,800housesweredestroyedorravaged,aDefenseMinistryspokes-

womansaid.FireburnedwellpastdarkinalargesectionofKesennuma,acityof

70,000peopleinMiyagi.AresidentinMiyagiprefecturewhohadbeenstrandedonhisroof,surroundedbywater,mudandfallentrees,wasrescuedbyaSelf-DefenseForcehelicopterSaturdaymorning,TVvideoshowed.Officialsdeclaredthefirst-everstateofemergencyataJapa-nesenuclearpowerplantandorderedevacuationsaftertheearthquakeknockedoutpowertoacoolingsystemattheFu-kushimaDaiichifacilitynear

thecityofOnahama,about170miles(270kilometers)northeastofTokyo.Theysaidradiationlevelsinsidethefacilityhadsurgedto1,000

timesmorethannormal.Someradiationhadseepedoutsidetheplant,thenuclearsafetyagency

saidearlySaturday,promptingcallsformoreevacuationsofthearea.Some3,000peoplehavealreadybeenurgedtoleavetheirhomes.

TheDefenseMinistrysaidithadsentdozensoftroopstrainedtodealwithchemicaldisasterstotheplantincaseofaradiationleak.

AnAmericanworkingatthefacilitysaidthewholebuildingshookanddebrisfellfromtheceiling.DannyEudy,52,atechnicianemployedbyTexas-basedAtlantic

PlantMaintenance,andhiscolleaguesescapedthebuildingjustasthetsunamihit,hiswifetoldTheAssociatedPress.

“Hewalkedthroughsomuchglassthathisfeetwerecut.Itslowedhimdown,”saidPineville,Louisiana,residentJanieEudy,whospoketoherhusbandbyphoneafterthe

quake.Thegroupwatchedhomesandvehiclescarriedawayinthewaveandfoundtheirhotel

mostlydestroyedwhentheyreachedit.

“This is the kind of earth-quake that hits once ev-ery 100 years”

Inatelevisedaddress,PrimeMinisterNaotoKanextendedhissympathytothevictimsofthedisaster. Asaftershocksrattledthecountry,resi-dentsandworkersinTokyorushedoutsidetogatherinparksandopenspaces. ManypeopleintheJapanesecapitalsaidtheyhadneverfeltsuchapowerfulearthquake. IncentralTokyo,anumberofofficeworkersarespendingthenightintheirofficesbecausetheliftshavestoppedworking. “Thisisthekindofearthquakethathitsonceevery100years,”saidrestaurantworkerAkiraTanaka. Trainservicesweresuspended,strand-ingmillionsofcommutersintheJapanesecapi-tal. AboutfourmillionhomesinandaroundTokyosufferedpowercuts. Morethan8,000peoplehavebeenconfirmeddeadfollowingtheearthquakeandtsunami,butsome13,000arestillmissing. InthetownofRikuzenTakatamostofthechildrenwereinschoolwhenthetsunamistruck,ensuringtheysurvived,butmanyof

Peoplecomeandgofromtimetotime;somehavecomebackhomebecausetheyaretiredoflivingasevacuees,somehavereturnedtowork.Everyreasonisdifferent,butpeoplearereturning.Onebigdifficultyisthatmovingandsearchingthroughthedebristakesalotoftimebecausetherearenotenoughpeopletohelp Also,restaurantchainsarenotopen.Foodsafetyhasnotbeenestablishedanditseemsthestoresbelongingtolargerchainsarebeingforcedtostayclosedbytheirmanage-ment. Somethingsweneedwecanbuynearby,andsomethingswecan’t.Privateshopsandconveniencestoresstartedopening(thoughnot24-hour)andwecanbuydrinksandsomedailygoods.However,distributionisstagnatingandoverallstocksarelow. WhenIgooutIwearahoodedcoatthatIcall“protectiveclothing”.Bywearingthesameclothes,Itrytominimisethenumberofitemsexposedtoradiation.IfIchangedmyclotheseverytimeIwentout,Iwouldhavetowashmyclothesinpotentiallypollutedwater,

Reflectingoneverythingthathashappened,Ifeelmoresadnessthananger.TheearthquakeandthetsunamicausedhugedamagetotheTohoku(north-east)region.Peoplelosttheirhomes,theirlovedones,theirjobs.People'sliveswerechangedinaflash.ButIbelievestrivingforwardispartofhumannature.Wewillmakeeveryefforttorebuildourhomeland. Iwanttoseeaswiftrecovery.Buttheproblemofthenuclearpowerplantisaseriousobstacle.Theotherday,thechiefcabinetsecretarysuggestedthetransferofpeopleoutoftheIndoorEvacuationZone.Peoplehaverestartedworkhere.Whathappenedtothepreviousassessmentthatwewouldbesafeaslongaswestayedindoors?Itreallyfillsmewithdeepsadness. IwanttostayinMinamisoumalivingthelifeIhadbefore,andIwanttocontinueteachingfootball.ButbothmywifeandIthinkitwillbeimpossibleifthissituationcontin-ues. Evenifthenuclearpowerstationisbroughtundercontrolsoon,itwilltakeseveralyearstoclearupcompletelyandforthingstoreturntonormal. Rightnow,Haramachi-kuhastheproblemofradia-tion.WithoutitIthinkitwouldhavebeenpossible-evenwiththeotherissues-toleadasimplelifehere.However,weneedfundsandIthinkanenvironmentthathasaradiationrisksimplyisn’tright,especiallyformynewbaby. Ihavetomakeaveryharddecision.Iwanttolivepeacefullyinmyhometown.ItpainsmethatIcan’t.Iworryaboutmymother. IwenttoTokyoforfivedaysearlierthismonth.IcouldseequiteadifferencebetweenTokyoandMinamisouma.IfIstayintheIndoorEvacuationZonethereisnoguaranteeofwork.IalsofeltthatstayinginTokyowouldbesaferwhenIconsidermybaby’sfuture. Ihavenochoicebuttocarryonwithmylife,andIwillworkawayfromhometemporarily. Ihaven’tdecidedwhatIwilldolong-termyet.WhatIknowforsureisthatIhavetogiveupmydreamofbeingachildren’sfootballcoach.Sadlymylifehaschangedcom-pletelyasaresultofthisdisaster.

Mayumi Geater

“When the night showsthe signals grow

on radiosall the strange things”

“they come and go as early warning stranded starfish have no place to hide still waiting for the swollen easter tide the is no point in directionwe cannot even choose a side”

se

© Line Norheim Ask

will

AGAINThe sunr