Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, Minamisanriku town was one of the hardest hit by the monster tsunami that swept across east coast of Japan on 11th March 2011.
The epicenter of the strongest ever recorded earthquake in Japan(magnitude 9) was just 72km away, and many residents had just over 30minutes to seek higher ground.
Unfortunately for those who took refuge on the second floor of buildings, took time to gather belongings, or hopped in their car, their survival rate was grim. Many good Samaritans who tried to help the vulnerable were also swept away by the tsunami all together.
In a region known for tsunami historically, ancestors passed down their wisdom of “tsunami tendenko” - an idiom known in the region, that urge people to escape separately to higher ground when there is a risk of tsunami, and to look after your own life first.
Many survived on the instinct of “tsunami tendenko”, like Rumi Miyakawa of Minamisanriku, who now actively shares her experience as “Kataribe” or storyteller.
“I lost my home, my workplace and my boss in a blink of an eye. The tsunami came within 40 minutes of the earthquake”
Leader of the kataribe group, Rumi Miyakawa (right) with Emiko Chiba (left) Source: Yoshihiko Watanabe
“My family survived, as my mother in law always spoke of tsunami tendenko. We all knew to escape separately to our own designated evacuation centres"
Rumi now leads the kataribe group, Fuguwarai, speaking on tour buses and conferences, or wherever there are opportunities to share her experiences.
Dr Gareth Davies, Hydrodynamic Modeller at Geoscience Australia says, unlike Japan, Australia is situated in the middle of a tectonic plate, at greater distance from major subduction zones, and the risk of major tsunami is relatively rare. However, history has shown that tsunami can indeed travel thousands of kilometres away.
Model of 1960 Chile tsunami Source: Gareth Davies/Geoscience Australia
New South Wales too was hit by the significant tsunami of the Chile earthquake though damage was minimal.
In addition to the risks of tsunamis on our shores, Australians often travel internationally to places such as Indonesia, Southwest Pacific Islands or South America, where the hazard is often greater.
"Australians can learn from the stories of survivors in Japan" says Dr Davies.
Tohoku Fukushi University’s Yoshihiko Watanabe, a professor of clinical Management, who has been overseeing the activities of Fuguwarai says, that the process of speaking brings healings to the survivors.
Fuguwarai has also collated a booklet, “Memories of the Earthquake Disaster”, stories collected from 30 survivors of the tsunami.
Collection of stories of tsunami survivors Source: Yoshihiko Watanabe
Professor Watanabe says, their stories so raw, sends strong message to the listeners about life so vulnerable that each of us must protect.
By sharing her stories, Rumi hopes that people can have more knowledge about tsunami and know what to do if there was ever a risk.
The group is always looking for ways to improve their story telling, having regular workshops, listening to veteran story tellers. They are also looking at developing multilingual story telling, as pre pandemic, Minamisanriku saw significant increase in foreign visitors.
10 years after the disaster, the devastating state of the Minamisanriku can no longer be seen with the rapid development of tsunami safe infrastructure.
However, with photos showing what life was once like in Minamisanriku, the story tellers continue on their journey.
Source: Yoshihiko Watanabe
