Aki Nakamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
NODAMURA, Iwate--"A real tsunami..." As assistant language teacher Georgia Robinson watched the water push through the village, she remembered the fear a book about tsunami had inspired in her as a child in her native New Zealand.
Illustrations of giant waves looming over and crashing down on people left a strong impression on the young Robinson.
At about 3:40 p.m. on March 11, Robinson, 24, was at work in a building that housed Nodamura's education board.
Everybody in the building was aware a tsunami alert had been issued after the massive earthquake that struck about 50 minutes earlier. But as most buildings in the village stood on a hill, and because they were about 800 meters inland, everyone continued to work as usual.
"What's that?"
Looking out the window, Robinson was confused by the sight of what looked to be a house moving. It took a few moments for her to process what she saw and understand that tsunami had hit the village.
Inside the building, the people could hear nothing of the destruction occurring outside. Giant waves were sweeping away buildings amid an eerie calm that was nothing like the chaotic illustration she remembered from her childhood. But the quiet only made things more frightening.
From the second floor, Robinson could see the building was surrounded by dark, muddy water. The first floor was soon flooded. Debris smashed into the door. The sound of glass shattering rang out.
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Smoke on the water
Not long before the tsunami arrived, Kazumi Osawa, 15, and her grandfather Tokichi, 87, left their home in the seaside district of Minami-Hama in the village immediately.
Osawa, a third-year student at Noda Middle School, and her grandfather--the only members of the family who were at home--went to a vacant lot designated as an evacuation area.
The evacuation area was near the sea, but was on a hill and was more than 20 meters above sea level. About 20 people had already gathered there when Osawa and her grandfather arrived.
Out at sea, Osawa could see what looked like a line of white smoke. "Is that a tsunami?" she wondered.
Osawa reached for her mobile phone to take a photograph, and when she looked back out to sea a moment later, a huge blue wave had begun to build behind the white line.
She looked for her grandfather but could not see him. When other people started to scream and run, Osawa rushed farther up the hillside with them, pushing through the branches of the trees.
When she looked back, Osawa saw a house next to the evacuation site engulfed in water.
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Aftermath
In the education board building, Robinson and others spent the night in pitch darkness on couches in an office on the first floor. They could not sleep at all due to frequent aftershocks.
At 6 a.m. on March 12, Robinson went outside. In front of the local government office next door, Self-Defense Forces personnel were gathered for search and rescue work. She realized it had not been a dream.
Robinson joined others trying to clean up, but every time there was an aftershock they had to evacuate to a nearby gym.
She saw bodies covered with blankets, and reflexively closed her eyes.
In the morning of March 14, Robinson received an e-mail written in English.
"Hi, it's Kazumi. Are you OK? I'm very worried."
It was from Osawa. Robinson had gotten to know her at an English speech contest last autumn, and Osawa had once visited Robinson's home.
"Hello, I'm OK. Are you and your parents OK?" Robinson replied.
Osawa's next message read, "My grandfather hasn't been found yet."
Robinson's heart ached for her young friend. She sent Osawa another e-mail: "Be strong."
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Solidarity inspires
Robinson's mother, Brenda, 48, could not contact her daughter for about 36 hours after the disaster. Her fears grew every time she heard familiar names like Kamaishi, a town near Nodamura, on TV in New Zealand.
Brenda's house is located on New Zealand's South Island, which was itself still reeling from a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Feb. 22.
And the series of accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant only added to her concern.
When Brenda finally got through to Robinson's mobile phone, she broke down in tears of relief upon hearing her daughter's voice.
Brenda asked her daughter to come home to New Zealand, but Robinson said she did not want to leave Nodamura.
She had seen village officials working through snow to remove debris, helping to clean the devastated village at an amazing speed. She was touched by people's efforts to restore their village.
She was also mindful that she had signed a work contract that extended to summer.
Osawa, who early this month began attending high school, was very happy to know Robinson was still in Nodamura.
"Many foreigners left Japan, but she's still here," Osawa said.
Tsunami swept away Osawa's family home. Her grandfather's body was found near where the house had stood.
Osawa recalled that she had often played with her grandfather there by the sea. "But I want to be strong like my teacher [Robinson] told me," she said.
She hopes to one day work in a job related to foreign languages, such as translation.
On April 7, Robinson went to the seashore for the first time since March 11. Before, she had often enjoyed reading by the sea and looking out at the water. Though tsunami broke the breakwaters, the beach was as beautiful as ever. Robinson thought to herself, Japan will definitely recover.
(Apr. 25, 2011)
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