3.11 Earthquake and Tsunami

            

             “Please spend all day today mindfully. Watch out outside. Stay safe.” My mother always said this to me when she had a nightmare. That’s one of her superstitious fears, but I really didn’t care about her premonition before the disaster.  The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami broke my heart deeply. Regardless of any religious beliefs, I just prayed to God. The disasters occurred on March 11^th, 2011. It was a magnitude of 9.1 and recorded the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world. About 16,000 people died, and over 3,000 people were missing. Many people lost their families and houses. The disaster was the most difficult crisis for Japan since the end of World War II.  After the tragic disaster, I began to consider any sign of premonitions. In addition, I accepted the importance of the family bond.  When life is difficult, my family members will encourage and support each other always.     

                   Since the disaster, I stated paying attention carefully to all kinds of information.

Furthermore, I try to stay calm and think clearly if any emergency happens. I decided to become more reliable, and I can support my family if they need help. When this disaster happened, breaking news video played suddenly about an unusually big wave that crashed into peaceful seaside towns in a flash. Then, I was extremely shocked at the same time because I never believed that it just happened in Northern Japan. “Why was the movie playing again?”, my eyes flickered. Before that night I coincidentally watched the movie, Deep Impact at home. It was like déjà vu, and naturally I had goosebumps. Until then, the myths were interesting for me, but I had never believed some predictions or premonitions. On the contrary, my mother always considers intuition or a sign of bad luck as unfortunate. When she doesn’t feel comfortable, it seems like some negative thing will occur. Actually, when the earthquake happened, my parents were at a grocery store in a suburb of Tokyo. Right before the earthquake started, she got dizzy and felt like vomiting. A store employee came and tried to help my bending over mother, and then, the ground intensely shook. The disaster changed my agnosticism.

            Moreover, I recognized the importance of a family bond. After the disaster, I started contacting my family more often. Now, when I visit Japan, I enjoy spending time together as much I can. When the disaster happened, I was in Chicago. Immediately, I tried to confirm whether my family and friends were safe. I called to family, but the telephone lines were downed. Therefore, I was unable to contact them. I tried online calls, such as Skype, and finally, I could talk with my mother. “Hello…” She spoke in a weak voice. “Oh, I’m terrified, but I am okay, also our relatives were safe. Currently, everyone is in extreme panic in Japan.”  I relocated too far from my family. I blamed myself because I was so helpless and useless for them. However, I was sincerely thankful my family was safe.

             I was really impressed because those suffering in Japan continued to have hope and stood up against their broken hearts and damage. “Let’s recover Japan together for the young children in the future.” Even after the disaster was over, Japan faced many problems and side effects. For example, the radiation problem of nuclear plants in Fukushima occurred. Farming and agriculture industries were damaged by the disaster. In addition, the crisis affected the Japanese economy. My parents stayed strong and controlled the stress as well. Since the disaster happened, my parents haven’t recommended me to come over to Japan. Mother explained me on the phone, almost every day, suddenly, the grand start shaking still. She still feels trauma from the earthquake. One year later, I finally visited Japan. When I arrived home, my heart was squeezed. The small entrance gate of the house was dented slightly. My father tried to fix it, but it wasn’t completely straight. The wall of the house got small cracks. I grew up in this house, which my father had designed and had built. My father is an architect and he designed our house to resists earthquakes. I realized how much the earthquake was powerful. There are two large China cabinets in the living room. My mother collected tableware and decorated them on the cabinets. Those collections were beautiful and had family memories. However, the cabinets were almost empty because some pottery was broken. I was speechless and just kept staring at the cabinets. Mother explained me quietly, “Most cups and plates had fallen down from the cabinets and broken.” My heart was beating fast. “Well… I’m glad that no one my family injured at the disaster.”  If my parents were in the living room, they might get hurt with glass and furniture. Actually, I realized that life is most important thing. From this experience, my family and I learned to declutter the house. 

            The disaster crashed human lives although the survivors stayed patiently strong. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict the future completely like a fortuneteller of a fairy tale. However, a strong connection between family will encourage positive life. A family bond is unbreakable easily expect unexpected powerful disasters. Since the 3.11 earthquakes, I have been afraid to check the breaking news although I pay attention to check them because I know that I need to stay informed and be prepared for any emergency situation. Every year on March 11^th, I remind myself in peace that keeping my eye on varieties of social problems, and having self-awareness as a member of society.