Eight years since the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown.
It was my day off, vacation time, I was sitting at my computer doing something, gaming, whatever, when the world started to sway gently back and forth. I looked up at the light cord, because that's where you look, dizzy spells and trucks going by don't cause penduluming, but there it was, swinging gently.
Earthquake, but not a bad one.
But...
It just kept going on. Usually these things last a few seconds, but this one just kept going and going.
Six minutes, I found out later, although I don't think I felt all of that.
I was over 700 kilometers from the epicenter.
But still, it rumbled and rocked for a while, and I went back to my game. Earthquakes happen here, there's that pause when you decide if you need to be worried or not, and then you go on.
It was nearly three in the afternoon, I didn't check the news. Why bother?
Met Mrs. A for dinner at a local izakaya pub, and looked up at the TV.
There were burning houses being swept inland through the rice paddies, and the numbers at the bottom of the screen were talking about dead and injured.
I picked up my phone and emailed my family back home while Mrs. A checked on hers.
Everyone was okay, but whatever plot armor you think you have in your life is useless when the sea comes calling.
The video below isn't mine, and it's definitely not for younger or more sensitive viewers. It's safe to assume that almost anyone you see who isn't within arm's length of the camera didn't survive.
Per Wikipedia, that's 15,896 of them.
And 2,537 still listed as missing.
Watch as much as you can stand, or don't. You won't be a better or worse person either way.
And no, I don't like the title, but it's accurate.
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