Last post on Minamisanriku tourist website before tsunami

From a Japanese speaker on Twitter, and a reliable-looking source.

Says "no damage from quake, please visit"

Tourism site

Now there are 10,000 missing.



Babelfish roughly confirms that translation -

"There is no influence in the sight-seeing facility and the accommodations and the transportation etc March 9th 11:45 AM around, concerning the earthquake which occurs in northeast district, without either damage. Feeling at rest, please cross over to south Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi Prefectures Cho."

NHK television reporting and showing that Minamisanriku is now submerged.
A 5-story hospital has water up to the fourth floor. All buildings lower than this
are completely underwater.

NHK live feed in English

Canadian News reports that 9,500 people are unaccounted for in that town.

The death toll in northeast Japan after a powerful earthquake and tsunami could rise dramatically, with news that about 9,500 people are unaccounted for in the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture.

Link

Not that its really important but does any one know how much time was in between the earthquake and the Tsunami? Did they even have time to evacuate from the coast?

this story is such a heart-breaking part of this whole disaster, maybe because it's so easy to recognize just how powerless we can be in something like this. Forty feet of water... my work, my wife's work, daycare, all would be underwater.

I believe in times like this a survival kit could help a little, a gun - definitely not... but wisdom, awareness, having compassion for people, knowing your neighbors, having a spiritual practice can truly help, even if nothing but helping the state of mind and community.

reply to post by lostsock


I am sure i heard that they only had about 7 minutes!
The quake was so close to shore ,there was very little time before the wave came in!

BBC video just in from what remains of Minamisanriku ....

BBC report