A different perspective to my Ito holiday pics

Put things in a different perspective...

After watching the disturbing images of the recent tsunami and earthquake in Sendai, Japan on NHK world, it does really put things in a different perspective.

As a Singaporean, I have never seen a tsunami warning sign before till recently, honestly I am rather clueless what to do during a tsunami or an earthquake. Not to mention a Ritcher 8.9 earthquake and 10m-high tsunami? Just numbers to me? But to the victims or survivors, it's a matter of life and death. The Sendai earthquake is a notch lower than the Ritcher 9.2 horrific earthquake in Banda Aceh (2004) but it is equally destructive as seen on the news. The Sendai earthquake is the largest earthquake to hit Japan and the fifth largest in the world since recording began but thankfully not the deadliest. A very frightening thought.

wikipedia

Not just an interesting sign anymore. It's life or death.

The sign above was photographed in Ito, izu peninsula, shizuoka prefecture which is now on tsunami alert. Then,  during my trip, it was an unique sign. Now, it evokes a much different meaning. It gives me chills thinking that a place I have been to is one of the alert areas read out emotionlessly by the newscaster this afternoon. The alert list was really long. Nature's wrath is devastating.

A friend who was going to visit Sendai narrowly escaped. She was supposed to be travelling today. I was so looking forward to seeing her travel pictures but it's truly God's blessing for her not to be there. Another friend in Ise, also on the alert list is fine too. : )

Learnt something from watching the news today, other than hiding under a very strong table (I know this) during an earthquake, I should stand under a doorway or against a wall in the middle of the building. And to think, I naively thought standing in the middle of the room is fine as long as there are no heavy furnishing around me. I didn't think that the false ceiling and all the electric lamps will rained down during the shakes as the NHK video clip showed...

The aftershocks are measuring 6.0 and above and coupled with the cold (0 degrees in some areas), the survivors are going to have a tough time. I hope that the rescue teams can save as many lifes...

What to do during an earthquake? Here