The day after we arrived, 5 of us were assigned with a CRASH staff to work at a fisherman’s house in Ishinomaki.  We didn’t know what to expect and as we were near the location of the house, someone suggested that we stop at a public toilet in case there wasn’t a toilet facility at the house that we could use.  So we drove on thinking we could find somewhere suitable along the main street.  However, as we continued for over 10 minutes, all we saw were horribly damaged houses, petrol stations, convenience shops and other buildings.  Everywhere was a mess and we also saw a large pile of trash that appeared to be close to 10 metres high.  The roads were deserted, apart from the cars that appeared to be just passing through the town.

 

Finally, we realized that our search for a toilet was futile, so we turned back and headed to the fisherman’s house.  His neighbourhood is around 3km away from the coast, yet all around we could see homes substantially destroyed.  Many appeared uninhabitable without major restoration work (assuming they can be restored) and the whole neighbourhood was quiet and devoid of people.

 

It felt a little eerie to see so much destruction all around and to wonder what happened to the people who used to live here.  It was also difficult to imagine how and when this neighbourhood can return to what it was, or close to that, before the disaster struck.

 

Over the next 2 weeks, we visited other areas in the Miyagi Prefecture that also suffered massive destruction.  In the farming and industrial areas nearer the coast, we saw factories and farm lands that have been completely “washed out” and huge debris of trees, houses and motor vehicles stuck in the middle of open fields. We also noticed a school (Nakano Elementary School – more on this school below) near the Sendai harbour that had been in the path of the tsunami waves.  As we drove past, I felt shudders down my spine as I thought of the children at school as the waves rushed in.