FUKUSHIMA--The evacuation order around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has held up the search for the parents of two local children, as the troubled power station lies just south of their hometown of Namiemachi, Fukushima Prefecture.Yuki Nabeshima, 12, and her brother Yusuke, 7, were brought to their paternal grandparents' home outside the prefecture after Namiemachi was destroyed by the tsunami that surged ashore following the March 11 earthquake. More than 10 days after the quake, the siblings still do not know what has become of their parents and maternal grandparents.
As the nuclear crisis surrounding the plant intensified, the government ordered residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the power station to evacuate and those within 20 to 30 kilometers to stay indoors.
The children's home lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone, and with the local police station closed, the search for missing people in the town has been put on hold.
Yuki is a sixth-grader and Yusuke is a first-grader at Ukedo Primary School in Namiemachi.
When the quake struck, Yuki and about 90 second- to sixth-graders who were in class at the time evacuated to a small hill near the school. Yusuke and his first-grade classmates were not at school when the earthquake struck. The entire area surrounding the school was swallowed up by tsunami. The waves washed away most of the buildings, leaving only the school's main building and its gymnasium behind.
From the hill, the students walked several kilometers along a mountain path and were eventually given a ride in a back of a large truck, which took them to a town office that was being used as an evacuation center.
The school's assistant principal, Michihiro Moriyama, 57, rushed to tell the students' parents their children were safe, but was not able to contact Yuki's parents.
Yuki's father, Akinori, 46, works at the ancient Kusano Shrine. It seems that he and his wife, Yayoi, 43, initially escaped by car, but then returned to the shrine to try to rescue Yayoi's parents and were swallowed up by the tsunami.
Moriyama brought Yuki to a shelter to wait for her parents to be located. But after the evacuation order was given, they had to move to several different shelters and acquaintances' homes in the prefecture.
After a short while, they confirmed that Yusuke was safe. He had been at an after-school care center when the earthquake hit. When the siblings were reunited, Moriyama saw Yuki smile for the first time in a long time. "She must have been feeling so helpless," he said.
But he worried about Yuki, who seemed to be putting on a brave face and did not ask about her parents. Moriyama told her: "I heard your mom and dad went to help to your grandpa and grandma. That was really great of them...I'm sure they're somewhere cheering you." Hearing this, Yuki wept for the first time since the quake.
Yuki and Yusuke have still not heard anything about their parents. Later, they were sent to live with their grandparents in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 15.
Yuki's school has decided not to hold a graduation ceremony, but Moriyama promised her that he would send her a diploma. "If there hadn't been any trouble at the nuclear plant, we could've kept searching for their parents," Moriyama said. "There's still hope, but not much. I hope they're alive somewhere."
Yuki and Yusuke's grandfather, Mitsuhisa Mukuno, 72, said the two siblings have been helpful around the house and have not cried.
After hearing about the rescue of two people nine days after the earthquake in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Yuki said: "They're lucky. I hope the same thing happens to us."
Yusuke was worried about his mom. "She was sick and had a fever. I wonder if she's OK."
(Mar. 23, 2011)
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