3/11 Japan

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A couple of days ago, the recent documentary made by NHK World Media Company on 3/11 Tsunami in Japan brought back that horrifying nostalgic memory of 2011, when like everyone else, I was glued to the TV, watching the news report broadcasting those terrifying images of Tsunami waves crashing down the coastal areas of Japan.

Back then the horror of Indonesian Tsunami was still quite fresh on everyone's mind, on top of that, a couple months before the tragedy strike, I watched a movie based on Tsunami name Tidal Wave, which at that time, I was under the impression was made by Japan. So, just imagine my disbelief and shock, when the thing I watched on movie became the reality with people of similar race. During those moments when the news first broke out, I couldn’t help but whisper, You guys shouldn’t have made that damn movie. Well, it was recently that I found out, the movie was actually made in South Korea.

Now back to the 3/11 Tsunami. In the documentary, they used the actual footage of that day, starting from 7 am. People strolling on the beach with their dogs, school children participating in sports events, normal people moving on their everyday lives. That day, many schools held their high school graduation and knowing that, I kinda feel bad for those teenage kids. Imagine, just when you were finally able to celebrate those short lasting moments of teenage freedom, enjoying the first break from the dreadful school life, the world decided to unleash it's chaos.

The First Earthquake hit at exactly 2:45pm and by the look of it, at the very first few seconds, people didn’t pay it much attention. The NHK broadcast at that time were enough to paint a clear picture of how used to people in Japan are with earthquakes. But even that experience wasn’t enough to prepare them for the horrifying ground shattering 9.0 earthquake that lasted nearly six fucking minutes.

Hell, I would've died of a heart attack even before it hit the three minutes continuation mark, but there the people of Japan were, panicking but still possessing the balls of steel. I guess, the majority of that confidence came from the fact that they knew no matter what happened, the buildings wouldn't crumble into dust.

Before the Tsunami attack, the people had at most half an hour to an hour to get into safety, but curious minds were always there to annoy and increase the work of life-guards in charge. No matter how loudly or how many times they shout, the curious people would barely budge from the coastal area, looking at the ocean, waiting to see that infamous wave and in the end ran like a mad man when it was too late.

The documentary brought out the overall overview of the tragedy, starting from the calmness before the horrifying chaos, where everyone looked so oblivious to what would happen next, going on with their everyday life. The faces of those recordings made you think how in an instant, life could take a drastic turn and make everything nothing but destruction. The aftermath was proven to be more horrifying as the nuclear power plant hung in the thread to unleash the deadly radioactive poison.

Watch the documentary here.