ToaG: 2011-3-11 part 2

Before going into this, I will just say that I am not in any way making light of what happened last year, I am only reporting what happened to me. I will be posting both parts today since today is 1 year since the quake hit.

And this one is the serious one. First, I must explain. My father and I have this Father daughter thing where we look up quakes when we feel them, and report them to one another, if they're interesting. So, I have this obsession with looking up earthquakes, especially when I feel them. I like to know where they were, how big and what kind. Which is why I'm looking it up in that first panel.
I found an English NHK broadcast from Tokyo on the internet and watched as people filled the quake hitting Tokyo. That was just wow...
Then they went to a helicopter. It was over a bunch of rice fields and they seemed to be flooded. When I looked closer, I saw that it wasn't flooding, it was actual moving water. Then I saw the burning house being carried along by the murky water. And I realized just what was happening.
I spent the rest of the day watching footage, and when my husband got back, we turned on the TV. It was horrific. I've never felt so miserable in my life (it doesn't help that drowning is one of my biggest fears, followed by fire and both were happening all over). I had a friend in Kanagawa who I was worried about, friends in Chiba, but luckily they were ok.
The scariest piece of footage for me was a row of houses in the background with rice fields in front and a car driving alongside them. Then, out of no where this giant wave crashes over the houses and starts rushing at the person recording. It's far enough away, and the person stops filming, and clearly got away to turn in this footage, but I had dreams, for weeks, about that car that was trying to drive away in the distance. I know they couldn't have made it, and it still makes me cry to think of whoever was driving that car.

Again, these comics are not meant to give laughs, they're mostly to record my feelings, thoughts and actions during and after the quake in the best way I know how, and so that I never forget. Perhaps, if I have time tonight, I'll actually draw something pretty and not so sad.

On the bright side, there is some wonderful progress being made to clean up the north. If you're curious, there are some amazing pictures of before the cleanup and after, and it really gives hope to see how much has been cleaned.

Ganbare Nihon

My thoughts go out to those in the north who are still recovering.

Part 1 here: [link]

More comics in my series here: Tales of a Gaijin
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