Last house standing

Man’s home survived earthquake and tsunami, but nobody else’s did

BY JULIAN RICHARDSON in Natori City, Japan richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Eiji Suzuki's home stands firm in the aftermath of the Great East Japanese Earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country on March 11 last year. One may think this would make him a happy man.

But not when the house is the only one left standing in his section of Natori City in the Miyagi Prefecture, located in northeastern Japan.

The disaster cost Suzuki, 70, many friends. Of the 400 residents across 108 households inside his oceanside neighbourhood, 54 were killed when massive tsunami waves swept inland after the earthquake, including one whose body has yet to be found.

A solemn Suzuki mourns his losses, including the 100 million yen home he reconstructed with his parents 25 years ago. The Suzuki family lived there for 70 years.

"I would like to come back here, but this area has been designated as dangerous so I cannot return," Suzuki tells Latin American and Caribbean journalists gathered in front of the lonely two-storey house, which only has minor damage to the eaves on the ground floor and is surrounded by acres of empty land that was once a community.

"It is an indescribable feeling that I have lost everything that I built over the years along with my parents," he shares painfully.

The story of the Suzuki residence is among the many tales of survival emerging out of Japan since March 11.

There are different speculations as to why the structure, only 300 metres from the Pacific Ocean, was able to stand up to the powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 metres and completely destroy 107 housing units in the area. The fact that it was built from Canadian cypress wood has prompted one Canadian government minister to proclaim that the house withstood the disaster because Canadian-produced wood is solid.

Suzuki, however, believes topography was the main factor. "The impact of the water was different according to where it was hitting. Where the ground level was lowest, the impact of the tsunami was greatest, and where the ground level was higher it helped to lessen the impact," Suzuki suggests.

"This particular spot had the least impact from the flood water," he says, pointing to a photograph shot of the home during the tsunami.

"Because my house was on a higher spot, it helped," he claims.

Suzuki nor the five relatives — son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren — he shared the house with were at home at the time of the earthquake and tsunami, and were not harmed. His grandchildren were at school and his son and daughter-in-law, who both help him run a parking lot business nearby, were at work.

"I was at the hospital and I experienced the earthquake there, after which I rushed to the house," Suzuki recalls.

After quickly checking on the house, he fleed to a safer location further inland before the tsunami arrived 30 minutes after the earthquake.

He was reunited with his family three days later.

"There is a teaching in this area that when there is a tsunami, you should not come back to look for your house or your family, because you will die... if you are spread out, somehow you will find your family," Suzuki explains.

"Everyone in my family were at different places during the tsunami and were able to get back together again at a friend's house."

Suzuki says the disaster unfortunately reminded people of this farming town what they always knew could happen at any time in a country that lies on the infamous "ring of fire" earthquake and volcanic zone. But going forward, he remains an optimist.

"It just reminds us of the threat that nature can bring," he reasons.

"I have more of a forward looking positive outlook, so I am taking this as just one of the events that has happened in my life."

His competitors' establishments mostly wiped out, Suzuki's parking lot business is booming. Though he takes no joy from profiting off the misfortunes of others, he is happy that he has been able to continue the business started by his parents over five decades ago, and run by him the past 38 years.

"It is very special to me and it is important that I continue," he says.

As for the family home he has been forced to leave behind, Suzuki's wish is to turn it into some kind of monument. He now temporarily resides at a relative's home in a nearby district. And he and some of his former neighbours, most of them farmers, plan to relocate as a group to another community.

Suzuki is also chairman of the Association for Disaster Recovery in Natori City and is an important voice behind a five-year plan to build a higher seawall which will stretch from Sendai northwards to Yamamoto. What's more is that he is participating in a programme sponsored by OISCA (Organization for Industrial Spiritual & Cultural Advancement) International to bring back black pine trees — destroyed by the tsunami — to the seashore. The plan includes the organised raising of 500,000 seedlings of black pine trees on the tsunami-hit seashore of the Tohuku region.

"We are really grateful to OISCA for their assistance in regenerating the pine trees," says Suzuki. "We are really encouraged by this initiative.:"

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Last house standing