Passengers on the Yurikamome transit line in Tokyo walk along the track towards Shiodome station
Photograph: Koji Sasahara/AP
Was cleaning up in my picture archive and came across this one. Had to do a reverse image search, as I had completely forgotten what the subject was about. Then I found some relevant articles, here’s one:
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on March 11, 2011, and this picture was so orderly and serene compared to the other ones from the disaster. Which is probably why I decided to save it.
The Tohoku Earthquake was mind boggling. The scale of the earthquake and the tsunami really puts into perspective how insignificant we are in the face of our own planet. At its highest point, the tsunami was 133 feet high (40m). And there was so much footage recorded of the tsunami, the videos on YouTube are endless.
Going through the endless footage of it on youtube is one the things I always return to. The destruction is unimaginable. The horror is gut-wrenching. Seeing everything just getting washed away is both absolutely terrifying and utterly humbling in a way I’ve never found anything else to be. The best part though, is seeing people survive; encourage and rescue each other.
It is a horrible event that shows both the cruelest parts of nature and the best of humanity. I am so thankful of all the brave people that have posted the footage. It is something that should never be forgotten
I was in Japan when it happened. I watched live news of people and cars getting swallowed by a wall of water. Gutwrenching is the only way to describe it.