2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake
compiled by the quakebook community
Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)
As humans we are defined by our own series of life changing moments. For me one of those moments came at 2:46pm on March 11, 2011, the day of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The stories, original artwork and photographs in 2:46: Aftershocks were compiled in the days immediately following March 11 by people in Japan and around the world who were impacted by the events. The stories are from all walks of life and reveal what that day came to represent for so many. Today I add to this compilation; this is my story.
We moved to Misawa, Japan in 2009. My husband was stationed at Misawa Air Base and we lived on base in a tower apartment building. We adapted quickly to life in Japan and loved it there. I don’t remember the first earthquake we felt; we had them all the time. But no number of small earthquakes could have prepared me for that afternoon.
That Friday I went through my typical routine. I had just come home from the gym and taken a shower. I was standing in the bathroom when I felt the floor literally drop out from under my feet. In an instant the building was roaring with noise, clattering, shaking furiously in all directions at once. I cannot adequately describe the strength of that quake. It was like nothing I could have imagined. Unlike the earthquakes we’d had up to this point, this one didn’t slack off; the longer it lasted the stronger it seemed to get. It was terrifying. I freely admit I have never been more afraid in my life. I crouched in a doorframe, still dripping wet from the shower, and prayed to God to please keep the building standing. That night I went to sleep fully clothed in case of an evacuation, with my cell phone dead in my hands, crying because I desperately wanted to talk to my husband who was working that week at a base in southern Japan.
Contributors to this book talk about their inability to grasp the enormity of what had happened, searching for family, trying to remain calm in a moment that seemed surreal. I found out days later the earthquake was a 9.0 and the east coast of Japan had been slammed by a gigantic tsunami. In our area the tsunami washed 5 miles inland, the base sat at 6 miles inland. The earthquake had been so strong it literally changed the tilt of the earth on its axis. It moved Japan inches closer to the United States. Japan was reeling and I was, too. The devastation was too immense to comprehend. My heart was burdened. I went through a torrent of emotions, thankful for my safety but grieving for Japan.
Since moving to Japan I had come to love the country and the Japanese people. Seeing their reactions to the triple tragedies (the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was in shambles) made me love them even more. Their dignity and hope was unwavering. Yumiko Takemoto writes in her story titled Neighbors: ‘nobody can survive without the support of others’. And for me, the Japanese were my friends and neighbors and this was a time to give them my support. I could not leave them to endure this tragedy alone. In his story Options, Jason Morgan echoes that sentiment and writes, ‘I couldn’t pack it in just because the chips were down’.
In the weeks after the earthquake and tsunami our base formed a volunteer group to lead clean-up efforts in our area. During one of these clean-up missions, I found a glass fishing float. It was amongst all sorts of broken debris, yet it was untouched, not a scratch. My hope was restored in that moment. Our world can be chaos and all around us can be crumbling but there is still hope. There is still something within us that remains unbroken. Just like the cherry blossoms pictured at the end of this book, I knew Japan would have a rebirth and emerge from this devastation stronger and more beautiful than ever.
We experienced aftershocks for months, hundreds of earthquakes, countless shakings in a day. My life changed during those aftershock moments. It’s something that can’t be put into words without sounding like a cliché but it’s the truth. I want to be a better person, I want to live a better life, I want to give to others, I want others to know I care, I want us to be kind to one another, I want people not to give up, I want everyone to find their own glass fishing float.
I hope you will take some time to read this book. The stories are genuine and touching. It took me three years to read it but I am so glad I finally did. I bought it not long after it was released but the feelings were still too raw for me to read it. Even today when friends and family talk to me about that day and what happened afterwards, I get choked up and usually tears come. It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, I do; I want to talk about the bravery and hope of the Japanese people but part of me is still crouching in the doorframe and praying. But I hope the bigger part of me is living every moment, living a life worthy of the second chance I’ve been given.
