Sendai Tsunami

The following pictures were taken in the town of Ishinomaki; one of the most seriously affected towns from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. My visit occurred about 6 months after the disaster occurred. While large portions of the city had been repaired or removed, scars from the disaster could still be found nearly everywhere. 

Our trip was accompanied by the arrival of a Typhoon. As a result parts of Ishinomaki were beginning to flood, due to the storm-sewer system being severely damaged from the earthquake and tsunami.

In the heart of the town signs of the disaster were few and far between, but as we approached the coast to signs and scale of damage increase.

Several other boats were thrown on the streets of the town as well.

This hospital was famous because staff and patients were trapped inside after the tsunami. The US Military flew several helicopters onto the roof of the building. A young women in the Air Force, whose mother was Japanese, so she spoke Japanese, was the first inside. She lead the patients to the helicopters on the roof and in time everyone in the hospital was evacuated. (I met her at a USO Ball, hence I know this story.)

With the clean-up effort underway throughout the city, cars damaged in the tsunami are moved to locations like this so they can be recycled. This site had close to 1000 cars.

This temple was badly damaged in the disaster. If you look closely in the picture below, you can see that the grave stones were knocked over by the tsunami. 

These houses were among the countless damaged by the tsunami. Currently houses like this are being removed, so new houses can be build.

Because of the typhoon, this was my most haunting picture. Taken from seawall looking into Ishinomaki, the flooding from the typhoon gives one an idea of what this area looked like hours after the tsunami.

Sendai, Japan

Special Thanks to Koji Nikawadori