Kesennuma, Japan: The sun rises over an area devastated by the March 2011 tsunami in Miyagi prefecture. (Reuters via Guardian)
Life Goes On: Natori, Japan: A cherry blossom tree flowers in an area devastated by the tsunami and earthquake. (Yasuyoshi Chiba)
This remarkable series of images taken last month depicts local reporter Toya Chiba being swept away while taking pictures at the mouth of the Owatari River during the Japanese tsunami. According to Reuters, Chiba managed to survive in the rush of water by grabbing a dangling rope and climbing onto a coal heap around 30 feet high, after being swept away for about 100 feet, Kyodo News reports. (via msnbc)
This picture was taken on March 11 as the tsunami hit Minamisanriku in northern Japan. Survivors cling to an antenna mast and handrails on the roof of the Government Disaster Readiness Centre, as the tsunami sweeps in. All but nine of the 30 people who were on the roof were swept away by the huge wave. (AP)
A pine tree stands amid the tsunami devastated area in Rikuzentakaka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday, March 27. (Kyodo News via AP)
According to the AP, this was the only remaining pine tree, among several tens of thousands of other pine trees forming Takata seaside pine forest, after the March 11 tsunami washed away all the others, local media said.
This combo picture taken by Sendai city official Hiroshi Kawahara on March 11 and released through Jiji Press on March 25 shows (top to bottom) muddy tsunami water swallowing vehicles and houses at a bridge and finally coming to rest in Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture. Two weeks after a giant quake struck and sent a massive tsunami crashing into the Pacific coast, the death toll from Japan’s worst post-war disaster topped 10,000 and there was scant hope for 17,500 others still missing.
(Hiroshi Kawahara / Getty Images)
In light of the recent disasters, our hearts are focused on the vibrant and wonderful community in Japan. Your resilience is inspiring, and we hope that recovery will be swift and complete. 少しでも皆さんの力となり、一日でも早く日常の生活が取り戻せる事を願います。
As of today, Japanese is now the newest language available on Tumblr. We’re very grateful for our amazing members in the Japanese community, and we hope you’ll find the new option useful. You can change your language setting on your Preferences page.
You can also keep up with news from Japan via the #Japan tag page.
To aid the relief and emergency efforts, we’re asking all of our members to contribute to Red Cross International from your Dashboard. Look for the message on the sidebar. Members who donate will unlock the Limited Edition Japanese Tumblr Logo, and Tumblr will match your contributions up to $15,000.
日本の皆さま, 頑張ってください
Love, タンブラー
(via joshuanguyen)
See This Earthquake Ravaged Japanese Highway Rebuilt in Three Days These two photos show the same stretch of road—the Great Kanto branch—three days apart. By March 16th, just three days after the earthquake tore it apart, the road was rebuilt to the condition seen in the photo. Here’s the press release (run through Google Translate) from Nexco East, the company that runs that stretch of regional highway.
Nuclear Reactors in California: BY ANDY SINGER
An elementary school’s graduation in Kesennuma, Japan, on Tuesday. Evacuees moved to make room for the ceremony. More Photos »
The students here made determined efforts to remain upbeat. But many proved unable to hold back tears, whether singing school songs or joining in the brief after-graduation party.
“They tried not to show their sadness, but we couldn’t see them smiling,” said Yasuyuki Toba, one of the ninth-grade teachers who led the ceremony. So to end the party, he led a chant for the students clustered around him.
“Let’s meet again!” he shouted.
The students shouted in unison: “Let’s meet again!”
Japan’s Assessment of Radiation Around the Plant
Also:
As Japan struggled to contain the damage at its crippled nuclear complex on Sunday, two people were reported to have been found alive, nine days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami. An 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson were found under the debris of their home in Ishinomaki City, about 30 miles northeast of the city of Sendai, according to Miyagi Prefecture police officials and the public broadcaster NHK. (read)
Good News: “Survivor of Japan quake and tsunami found eight days after disaster- NHK citing military” - @REUTERSFLASH
The young man was found in Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture, which was one of the hardest-hit regions.
Toshihito Aisawa’s father, mother, grandmother and two cousins are all missing. For days the 9-year-old has been desperately searching for them at evacuation centers in the Japanese city of Ishinomaki, holding up hand written signs pleading for information. On one is written their names, on the other the simple message “I will come again tomorrow.” (via msnbc)
A Japanese soldier prays before removing the body of a tsunami victim from rubble. (Takashi Noguchi/AFP/Getty Images)
Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka grieves in front of wreckage where the body of his mother is buried in Onagawa, northern Japan Thursday, March 17, 2011. Hiratsuka kept crying out, saying “Sorry, Sorry” that he couldn’t have helped her from tsunami. (via)
