Two weeks have passed

Two weeks have passed since the massive earthquake occurred in Tohoku and Kanto areas on March 11th. It is the greatest earthquake of the ten centuries and is the worst natural disaster in postwar Japanese history.


Many people are still searching for their family members, houses, family memorabilia and keepsakes. They look to me like rubbles, but they used to be their homes and belongings. Many people are stuck in the areas because their family members are still missing.

However, officials started to clear away a huge heap of rubbles as a stage of recovery. Discovered photographs and articles of value are stored in town halls.

Giant tsunami rushed toward the shores of Chiba, Ibaraki prefectures in Kanto Region and Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefectures in Tohoku Region several times.

I've been to Tanohata Village in Iwate Prefecture. It was a pastoral and coastal village but had a monolithic coastal levee. Nonetheless, 14 people lost their lives, 30 are still missing and 600 have been evacuated due to tsunami.
Taro-cho(Taro Town) was equipped with double 10-meter-high coastal levees, but giant tsunami easily leaped over them.  Many designated evacuation centers were swept up by the tsunami. The nuclear power plant in Fukushima was attacked by 14-meter-high tsunami.

The height of tsunami was far and away beyond all expectations. It is said that it was very important to make decisions depending on the actual situation and take refuge in higher places.

We can get various kinds of information ncluding false rumors about the afflicted areas and the nuclear power plant on the Net.It is difficult to find out what is right.

We can also see the survivors' tragic experiences. The afflicted areas look like a battlefield. Some people care only about themselves, but many of the city officials and victims are working in shelters or town halls although their family members are still missing or staying in another shelters. The survivors said that the disaster revealed people's innermost natures.

The problematic nuclear power plant is in critical situation.　It could take months before the issue is resolved.
We know the past concealment of nuclear plant faults by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). So it gives us a sense of distrust.

Most of the workers who are currently working in the nuclear power plant are local people. Some of them still don't know whether their families survived while working there and the families of some workers are staying in shelters. They are enduring a hard struggle without compassion.

The 83th Spring High School Baseball Tournament began on the 23rd. It will be held at Koshien Stadium to April 1st on the sidelines of spring vacation.

Tohoku High School is participating in the tournament as the representative of Miyagi Prefecture. The members of its baseball team helped the afflicted people with water supply as a volunteer in a shelter near their school after the quake.

There are arguments for and against their participation. They said they wondered whether or not they should participate in the tournament. Most events are postponed or cancelled in Tokyo.

Trains were so crowded during commuter rush hours due to partial suspension of train services that I was tired. Now my trains are less crowded than before.

I visited my family grave with my family on the 23rd. It seemed that many people visited their family graves because fresh flowers were placed on many graves.　I noticed some trees such as Kobushi magnolia(辛夷, kobushi), Mulan magnolia(木蓮, mokuren) and Thunberg's meadowsweet(雪柳, yukiyanagi) blooming.