Hana's 3.11 experience as a child and her life after

"The tsunami actually actually didn't reach my city, so it suffered minimal damage, and fortunately, my house was also outside the tsunami's reach. However, the neighboring city, Natori, located on the ocean side, suffered significantly. As I lived right between Natori and Sendai, the tsunami reached the shopping malls I used to go shopping in. 

The day the earthquake happened, I was absent from school due to a fever, so I was at home with my mom and my baby sister. Things fell over around my house, such as the shelves in the entranceway, and my house became such a mess after the earthquake. However, my parents had already secured some of the big furniture in place in advance, possibly because they had always been concerned about earthquakes. What I noticed after moving to Akita for university was that earthquakes seem to occur more frequently in Miyagi compared to Akita. When the earthquake struck, the three of us rushed outside and went to the elementary school to pick up my brother, then met up with my dad. After meeting up with my dad and older brother, we decided that it would be safer to stay at my grandma's house, since it was earthquake-resistant. We all temporarily lived in her house, with my cousins ​​and my uncle and his wife. About 10 of us, in total, were living in the house and ended up staying there for a month. We experienced a power outage for the first 3 days and the gas was out for several days, but my grandma's house was all run by electricity, so once the power came back, everything was working fine. As for food, we didn’t struggle as some stores were still open, but many people, including those from Natori city, were rushing there, so I don't think there were many varieties. We often ate instant noodles and similar foods. There was food distribution sometimes, and we got free food such as soup and rice. Though my parents weren’t worried much about the tsunami because there wasn't much damage in my area, they were more worried about radiation as Fukushima was close to my prefecture and it was said that radiation might reach my city. 

My school was closed for about a month, so I wasn’t able to go to school. Instead, I was given assignments from the drills and workbooks I already had. During that period, I couldn’t see or talk to my friends or teachers, but spent most of my time with my family. When I finally returned to school, some of my classmates had transferred due to the disaster. There were also some people who moved to my area from the areas that were heavily damaged by the tsunami. After 3.11, schools provided us with more disaster education, for example, evacuation drills were often conducted. They made it mandatory for us to purchase an emergency hood and put one on their chair. In high school, there were classes where we invited students from other prefectures and shared our 3.11 stories, including what actions we took during the disaster, the situation we faced, and our experiences. We also participated in extracurricular activities that took us to places damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. For example, we visited an elementary school that was exposed to the tsunami and has been preserved for educational purposes. 

Fortunately, I don't have any trauma or PTSD due to the 3.11 disaster. Maybe it's because my family was always with me. Schools were also considerate of this to avoid provoking trauma and PTSD, by excusing students not to joining or watching the disaster-related events or media. Additionally, I think they attempted to avoid discussing negative topics. Rather, since it had already happened, they emphasized recovery and hope more. My area wasn't hit too badly, so perhaps it was easier to see more of the hopeful aspects, but if everything had been washed away in the tsunami or I had lost my family, it might have been difficult to think positively. So I was very fortunate. I think the 3.11 experience has made me more aware of disaster prevention. We often learned a lot about it at school and from my parents as well. I also started to pay more attention to earthquake and tsunami information than those who haven't experienced them. When a rumor circulated about the Nankai Trough earthquake, I contacted my friends in Kansai and advised them to prepare and have a safe place to escape."

The final message from Hana

"Finally, as someone who experienced the 3.11 disaster, I would like to share a message: please learn to protect yourself, stay strong, and always be prepared. I want people to always be able to protect themselves. I was only 8 years old when the disaster happened, but I had to run away on my own because my mom needed to take care of my baby sister. Also, just like my parents and teachers told me, it’s important to focus on recovery and hope rather than negativity when something bad happens." 

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