FIVE YEARS AFTER: Tsunami-struck town’s fall and rise captured in dramatic photos

[yuiyoshida]

By KENGO HIYOSHI/ Staff Writer

MINAMI-SANRIKU, Miyagi Prefecture--Flanked by the ocean and green mountains characteristic of the Tohoku region’s coast, this was a tranquil town--until the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck.

When the magnitude-9.0 quake hit on March 11, 2011, Shinichi Sato, who runs a photo studio in the town’s Shizugawa district, quickly fled for higher ground in his car with his family in tow.

He knew to take action promptly following a powerful earthquake thanks to lessons passed down through the centuries by locals of the northeastern coast, which has periodically been hit by major quakes and tsunami.

About 30 minutes later, Sato, 50, saw waves going upstream in the Hachimangawa river.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/quake_tsunami/AJ201603110054

[Buzz Clik]

1. Time sequence of pics:

2007


March 2011


February 2016

[KamaAina]

2. These anniversary posts are interesting. New Orleanians tend to shy away from the "Katrinaversary".