The Tsunami struck Arahama at 15:55, 69 Minutes after the Earthquake.
What did you see from the school window?
While I was directing residents at the entrance on the first floor, a member of the local fire brigade called out to me, “Principal, it’s dangerous. A tsunami is coming. Please come out!” I couldn’t see the tsunami. I was pushed by the firefighters into the corridor in front of the principal’s office on the second floor.
At that moment, I saw the swimming pool on the north side of the school building. There was a moat flowing right next to it. The water in the moat rose rapidly and flooded the pool in an instant.
The homes of not only the sixth graders but all the children were being washed away. Looking from the rooftop, I couldn’t believe that what was happening at my feet was real. I was stunned for a while. The streets that had existed until then were gradually wiped away by the tsunami. It was a merciless tsunami, regardless of our wishes. I wanted to open my arms and stop the tsunami. “Stop it!” I screamed in my mind.
Not understanding what had happened, looking from the large glass window on the east side of the school building I suddenly saw a large object pass right by the window. It was the house next door. The house was intact and was being carried away as it was. I just stood there in a daze. At that moment, the tsunami and debris broke through the glass. It was the first time I felt “scared.” I ran in the opposite direction to evacuate.
How were you evacuated from the school?
At 17:00 in the evening, a firefighter came down from a helicopter onto the rooftop using a rope. He gave the following instructions: “We will rescue people from the rooftop. Please be prepared to rescue them at any time.”
After discussing with the residents, we decided to have them rescue the elementary school students first. We lined up the children on the stairs from the rooftop exit. Rescue efforts began at 17:30, but the helicopter took a while to arrive. During that time, the teachers were by the children’s side. They encouraged the scared children and talked to them to encourage them.
The last elementary school student was saved at 5:00 in the morning on March 12.
After the elementary school students were rescued, rescue efforts began for some junior high school students, adults, and staff, but only a few helicopters arrived, and no more came. The remaining residents prepared themselves for a long wait to be rescued.
Twenty-seven hours after the tsunami, we checked how many people remained in the school building. There were 71 elementary school students, 16 teachers, and 233 residents, making a total of 320 people.
At around noon on March 12, about 70 residents had begun to evacuate on their own by foot because a search team had arrived from inland. However, most of the residents remained in the school building and were still waiting for rescue. This was because the water in the area had not completely subsided and aftershocks were continuing.
Around 3:00 p.m., many helicopters suddenly approached. They were rescue helicopters from all over Japan. By this time, the seawater had begun to subside and the helicopters were able to land on the ground. The residents walked to the helicopter landing site. The teachers and staff were in charge of guiding them.
At around 6:00 p.m., I boarded the final helicopter with a representative of the residents, and the rescue of all the evacuees was completed. At that moment, I turned around and looked at the school building. It was impressive to see it shining in the setting sun. Just before boarding the helicopter, I bowed my head to the school building and said, “Thank you.”
From March 13th onward, we divided the staff into several groups and began checking on the safety of the children. Since the staff had lost their personal cars, they had to check on their safety every day by foot. We even lost the mobility of our cars.
Even so, we gathered at the Self-Defense Force gymnasium every day to organize information. We were unable to secure a dedicated room. It was extremely difficult to organize information in a corner of the gymnasium where the parents were also staying.
Due to considerations such as protecting personal information and not causing anxiety to the evacuees, not only were we unable to write on the blackboard, but we had to talk in whispers. Little by little, we began to understand the situation of the students, parents, and the local area through the mobile phones of each teacher.
A few days later, we were able to borrow a classroom in a nearby junior high school as the “Arahama Elementary School Temporary Staff Room.” We were finally able to have normal conversations, and information sharing progressed rapidly. On the other hand, we were unable to secure a way to inform the parents that we were even at the junior high school. After a while, mobile phones were able to be used normally, and we were able to communicate with the parents.
Twenty-seven hours later, all 320 people, 71 elementary school students, 16 teachers, 233 residents were rescued.
How do you remember the Great East Japan Earthquake today?
It was an unbelievable situation. It was the first time I have ever experienced such a disaster in my life. It had a seismic intensity of 6+, magnitude 9. Even now, I can’t believe that such a disaster occurred. The damage caused by the tsunami that followed was like something from another world.
Now, 14 years later, many of the residents have relocated from Arahama and are rebuilding their lives in other areas. Meanwhile, the Arahama area was designated a “disaster risk area” and houses could no longer be built there. The population of 2,200 people dropped to zero. I work at the facility (on the site of the school) every day, wondering how the Arahama area will recover.
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In the Arahama area there were 192 deaths, including three junior high school students. “Months passed by in regret, wondering if the graduation ceremony had been delayed even by one day so that the students could have been saved,” said Kawamura-sensei.
In Sendai alone, 931 people were recorded as dead or missing. About 139,643 buildings were completely destroyed or extensively damaged and 5,728 residential areas were reported as “dangerous” or “requiring caution.”
There were a reported 19,759 deaths, 6,242 injured, and 2,553 people missing.
May their souls rest in peace.
© 2025 Norm Masaji Ibuki
