K38 JAPAN DISASTER AREA TOUR – MARIS CLUB IWAKE
Today we met with the Maris Club at Onahama Port representatives who graciously gave us a tour of the region. Our first stop was the warehouse that was destroyed in the Tohoku tsunami waters. They had 6 Personal Watercraft, 5 were later recovered. One was recovered 100 miles offshore floating in the ocean!
The police identified the ownership of the PWC by tracing back the H.I.N. to the Club (hull identification number). Five personal watercraft were found inland, while only one washed back offshore with the outgoing waters of the 13 tsunami surges. The Maris Club warehouse was along the waterfront, and everything that was inside the building was ruined or washed away as were other local waterfront buildings.
We retire to have a lunch together and review the Maris Club tsunami damage and response in their community with a photo and video review presentation. This club supports over 800 participants in their area. They have done great work with the K38 Japan WEAR IT! Lifejacket campaign
Today we traveled along the waterfront to view the reconstruction efforts. Normal day to day business was taking place, life has somewhat gotten back to a normal but the Tohoku disaster effects are still very fresh. This region was not only devastated along the coastal communities from surging tsunami waters, but has suffered one of our highest degree of difficulties in modern catastrophic events, a now globally infamous nuclear energy power plant disaster that is still causing recurring damages.
One thing I can say about the Japanese spirit is they are hard charging and driven to get things done. And that’s exactly what is happening in Nippon. Orderly and systemic recovery efforts are making great strides in clearing debris and the infastructure. The normal day to day lives and businesses have somewhat had to fend for themselves but again the resiliency of their spirit, they get right at it and take care of things even under complaint, they don’t wait for help. This is one of the great human spirit lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake. There is something great to be learned about this for Americans.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, as President Kennedy would ask of you.
The Japanese have a significant task in front of them and an expensive one, since I worked in the recovery efforts of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans I can certainly sympathize with all their hardships and concerns for getting back to a normal way of life again. This is estimated to take about 20 years, that is 2 decades, and I think it is quite realistic considering the magnitude of devastation they have experience. It is hard to imagine let alone to comprehend the scale of it all.
There are pile of debris awaiting their turn for removal. They are organized in pile by the type of debris and you can hear the constant drone of engines of heavy machiner around the clock attending to removal and rebuilding. I have never seen more heavy equipment in my lifetime in one area stretching for hundreds of miles on end. Even at night, their headlights and the humming sound continue onward to the fight of recovery.
The Maris club along with the citizens in this are have a rough road ahead of them with the element of both the tsunami and the radiation concerns from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. As we pass the port I witness water samples being taken, the soil, air and water are constantly being evaluated.
Because of this many people are concerned about going back to the sea. The fishermen who are generations strong, for them it is the only way of life they know. Many are returning now to their standard way of life and getting back to how they used to live as the memory begins to fade a little of those events on 311.
The Maris club has done an outstanding community service by providing fun, safe events on the water and supporting boating education. The Japanese are an island people and the ocean is a way of life, if not a part of their DNA, it is their historical heritage. There is much to be learned and shared from this region.
Thank you to Mr. Takao Noguchi, Mr. hideyuke Tanaka and Mr. Iwase from Maris Club Iwake
Shawn Alladio
K38 Founder
ABOUT K38 Japan's Disaster area tour of certain areas that were impacted by the Tohoku tsunami in conjunction with K38 Japan instructors and K38 Founder Shawn Alladio. The disaster area tour covered 3 days and multiple cities with interviews from survivors and responders specific to each disaster area. The tour was followed up with a Disaster Management training program for instructor development and K38 Open Water Rescue Course for Japanese water rescue specialists.
Dates: October 21-November 1st, 2013
www.K38Japan
10月24日 被災地視察 3日目
福島県いわき市 小浜海水浴場
今回の被災地査察、最後となりました
小浜海水浴場への方々が
案内してくれました。
小浜海岸に押し寄せた津波は
堤防を破壊し、集落も飲み込みました。
破損した堤防には土嚢が積まれてはいますが、もし次に
津波がきたら集落への直撃は免れないことなどもあり
この辺り一帯は新しく家を建てるのも建て直しも禁止されています。
家の形が残っている所でも、自己責任で留まっている状態です。
震災から時間が止まってしまった様な場所がここにもありました。
10月24日 被災地視察 3日目
福島県いわき市 小浜海水浴場
http://blog.canpan.info/k38japan/archive/171
