If a big earthquake occurred where you are right now, how would you make decisions and take action?

Many people see earthquakes and tsunami as happening far away in a distant area. It is easy to forget the common sense that natural disasters can happen to anyone / anywhere, and we do not know when they will happen.

However, I would like to tell you something important as a teacher who experienced the disaster at UkedoElementary School on that day.

– The situation of the evacuation at that time “My body was thrown about 1 meter.” –

On the day of the earthquake, I was in the gym with the 5th-grade students preparing for the graduation ceremony. While I explained to the students about our work in the center of the gym, a huge tremor hit us, and I felt the ground shaking.

The first thing that came to mind was to secure the exits. I was afraid that the building would collapse, and we would not be able to escape, so I tried to open the door. However, the shaking was so great that my body was thrown about one meter to the left and right. The earthquake was different from any other one I had experienced, and it felt like a very long time before the shaking completely stopped.

After that, other teachers and I led the students to run away, and after confirming that everyone had evacuated from the school, I followed the students. Some parents came to pick their children up, but actually, we did not hand them over to prevent confusion. I was at the end of the line and followed the lead to escape to Mt. Ohira. At that time, I had no idea that a tsunami of such an unimaginable scale would hit Ukedo direct. 

It was snowing on that day. Not only the fear of the earthquake, but the cold also upset us and sapped our strength. However, a local truck driver passed by and helped all of us to get on the back of his truck. Thanks to him, we were able to get off Mt. Ohira and evacuate all the children and teachers to the town hall. These community relationships were built daily.

– Message to tell everyone –

There is no  ‘absolute 100% safety’. It is important to be aware of the “what if” daily to protect yourself, without thinking “it will be all right” based on assumptions.

One of the reasons why we all survived is that life-saving actions can be found in our daily lives and we did. I told the students to check evacuation areas to prepare themselves in case of emergencies. For example, an earthquake can occur when there are no adults around children. Thinking about what they should do to save their own life is very important.

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Mr. Shinichi Sato

He was the curriculum coordinator at Ukedo Elementary School at the time of the earthquake. After the earthquake, he worked at an elementary school in Fukushima City and works at Namie Sousei Elementary School now. During long vacations, he visits Ukedo Elementary School to help with the operations.