Snow have been falling since Monday and the window is slowly closing on any survivor, if there are still any, in the township of Minamisanriku, a port town in Miyagi prefecture, in Japan.
From reports and photos now available through the Internet, Minamisanriku could be the worst-hit of all Japanese towns and cities swamped by the mountain of ocean water called tsunami that descended with all its might after the earthquake last Friday.
Once upon a time, Minamisanriku was a happy paradise, a picturesque port whose inhabitants of 17,666 depended largely upon the bounty of the sea. By afternoon of 11 March, the town had vanished together with over half of its population.
Minamisanriku was flattened by the tsunami. Its houses, streets, cars, boats and ships, buildings, and whatever other object stood in town were swept away and buried in water blacked by mud, debris, and detritus. Not a thing was left standing by the merciless torrent that seemed to be on a race against itself to wrought unspeakable destruction.
After the deluge, those who survived could only shed tears and shake their heads in shock and disbelief at the devastation. NHK TV, which today did an interview with the town mayor, Mr. Sato, showed footages of aid workers sadly and gingerly going about town to find any more survivors.
“We are bracing for many more days of hardships,” said Mayor Sato.
Asked what his priorities are now, Mr. Sato outlined three most important things. First, he said, is to find more survivors, admitting that this would be very difficult because of the harsh weather. It’s mid-level winter in Minamisanriku with temperatures going under four degrees.
The second priority, according to Mr. Sato, is to secure food, water, and fuel for the 8,000 or so evacuees housed in a gymnasium in the town.
“The evacuees are living in very harsh condition, and we need food, fuel, and water. We are very grateful to all people across Japan for their help, but we are bracing for more difficulties many days ahead,” he said very sadly.
The third priority of the mayor is to clear the roads for aid workers to reach isolated areas. It’s a tough job to do this, because the roads, if they have not been littered with debris, have been washed away, rendering them unpassable.
The reporter asked Mr. Sato what the survivors need at this time, and he said:
“Correct information.”
“The survivors in the evacuation center are asking for more information about where their families are. They are devastated by the lack of information about their missing loved ones because right now we are cut off from the rest of Japan. They hope they could get mobile phones as soon as possible.”
On the glass doors of the gym where the survivors are staying, posted are lists of names of identified persons who died from the tsunami, but these are of no help, it seems.
“Take care of your health so you can still perform your duties,” said the NHK TV staff to Mayor Sato after the interview.
How sad.
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