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Earthquake and Aftershocks in Japan
I woke up early, expecting an average day. I did not know what lay ahead. I got dressed and set out to the supermarket with my father. We took a taxi to the supermarket from where mother wanted us to buy food. A huge line was waiting at the cashier’s desk. Customer by customer, item by item, the cashier clicked the button on the sensor, the red light flickering. All of a sudden, the customers began to worriedly murmur. I felt an abrupt shudder pass through the ground, as if the floor was squirming, the way I would when I am tickled. Then I felt vibrations go through my bones, the way it would if I was listening to loud music. The store shook furiously, I imagined my father and I standing in a snow globe, and a person was shaking it as I fell to the ground. I pushed my father out of the way as a television set fell off the shelf. Everyone was screaming. “Jinshin! Jinshin! Earthquake! Earthquake!”. I did not know what to do. I asked my father. He said that we should leave the place. I did not think that was right but I followed him. Trees were collapsing and cars were tumbling down the road. I remembered the safety position and rolled up into a ball covering my head and opening my mouth. My father did the same. Five hours later, we found ourselves in buried in the ground, not so deep though. We cooperated and dug ourselves out. My fatherhad learned about earthquakes at school. He knew that they had aftershocks, but he could not remember what they were. “Aha! Tsunami!” He said almost crying. “Quickly! I will carry you, and I will run uphill.” He said. I jumped onto his back and he ran, I could tell, with all his might. He ran and ran until he was panting. I heard the sound of thunder. I was terribly afraid of thunder. But it wasn’t thunder. It was the wave. It roared and roared as it crashed on to my brother and I. My father caught onto a light pole, and told me to hold on too and hold my breath. I cried and so did he, but I did as he said. Water crashed and thrashed through the street. I held on to the light pole with all my strength and yet I was taken by the wave. I screamed and my father let go to come after me, I think. I felt safer as his hand caught my arm. I took a deep breath. My brother gestured for me to try to swim towards the side. I tried and tried but I could only move towards the left a little bit. The wave did us a favor, at the roundabout; it pushed us into the rubble and debris. Again, my father carried me and ran up hill. I had most of my energy so I told my father to put me down and let me run. He did not allow this. He ran on for a mile or so until he reached the highest point he could see. He dropped onto the ground and breathed heavily. A rescue helicopter hovered abovemy father forced me to stand up, wave my hand, and scream with him. We took of our yellow raincoats and flashed them in the air to grab the pilot’s attention. We didn’t do this easily because we both had broken arms. The helicopter hovered towards us and sent down a thick rope with a loop on the end. My father told me to go first. I went up first; it was nice to see how he cared about me. Then came his turn. He pulled the loop down his chest. The helicopter began to lift my father in. Up, up, up he went and so did his hopes. He was halfway through when he fell. He screamed as he hit the floor, hearing the snap of a breaking bone. “Aaah!” he screamed, thinking that the helicopter would give up. It flew away. I heard my father screaming at the pilot. Eventually the pilot listened. He sent down the loop and h pulled it down my chest this time with agonizing pain. I closed my eyes until he reached the helicopter. I sat happily next to my father and we flew away to a hospital.
Article posted March 20, 2011 at 12:46 PM •
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