Frisco Enterprise > News
Frisco High grad braves earthquake, tsunami
Photo by Madison Murphy: The earthquake and tsunami cracked streets and damaged buildings in Erimo, Japan, which is located about 250 miles north of the quake’s epicenter off the coast of Sendai.
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@acnpapers.com
Madison Murphy has been through earthquakes and tsunamis before, but that didn’t prepare her for what she felt Friday in Erimo, Japan.
The massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Sendai, Japan, also affected the small town of Erimo, which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on two sides and is about 250 miles north of the quake’s epicenter.
A 2004 graduate of Frisco High School, Murphy majored in communication at DePauw University in Indiana before going to Japan as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. Murphy has lived in Erimo, a small fishing village in the Hokkaido prefecture, for nearly three years where she teaches English to children from elementary to high school. She was at Erimo High School when the earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the city.
“I was in the teacher’s office chatting with another teacher about her plans for the weekend when we felt the shaking start,” Murphy said. “This was unlike any of the previous earthquakes we have experienced because the shaking was so prolonged. There was never any confusion. People knew what was happening, they knew how to react and they stayed calm.”
Murphy said the town PA system alerted residents to a potential tsunami and directed people to retreat to higher ground. The warning said that a six-meter tsunami would hit Erimo.
“The high school is one of the tsunami shelters in Erimo, so we were lucky enough to be able to remain where we were,” she said. “I called my parents to let them know I was safe. This was timely because soon after I lost all cell phone service for the next 24 hours. We all gathered around the TV to watch the events unfold around Sendai. These were the worst images I have ever seen. We watched live as waves of mud picked up homes, cars and burning buildings and carried them inland. We watched cars attempting to outrun the giant waves of water and mud coming at them.”
The damage done by the tsunami and earthquake in Erimo is already starting to be repaired.
“The tsunami caused more damage to my town than the earthquake,” she said. “The earthquake caused the road to buckle in a few areas, but the building regulations here are very strict so things here are built to withstand powerful earthquakes. However, nothing is built to withstand a tsunami. The tsunami ruined a few buildings close to the water and also ruined a few roads. One of our roads has cracked, spread and dissolved in areas. Everybody in my town is safe and physically unharmed and the process of rebuilding has already begun. Some of the buildings that were ruined have been dismantled and are now being rebuilt.”
Murphy said prior to the tsunami hitting Erimo, the water receded and was flat and peaceful. Shortly thereafter, she said, the waves came in and flooded the port areas of the city. Roads and buildings along the coast were also damaged by the waves that reached as high as 3 ˝ meters.
“The most interesting part of my experience was watching the fishermen,” Murphy said. “These men are incredibly brave. Instead of retreating to higher ground, they went right out to the tsunami to meet it. As soon as our first tsunami warning went off, all the boats and ships that were docked in Erimo headed out into the ocean. The fishermen stayed in their boats until the tsunami warnings were lifted the next day.”
Murphy said that in the 32 months she has lived in Japan, she has experienced many earthquakes ranging from 3.0 to 7.2 on the Richter scale. Her only previous experience with a tsunami was after the Chilean earthquake in February 2010, when a tsunami with 10-centimeter waves hit the city. She said the waves of that tsunami did little to no damage.
Aftershocks from the earthquake continued all day Friday, resulting in most weekend events being canceled. As of Monday, Murphy said life is getting somewhat back to normal with people returning to work. Erimo is far enough north of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant that Murphy said there have been no evacuations or precautions taken to deal with the potential radiation associated with the damaged reactors.
“People are saying it will take time to rebuild the country both physically and emotionally,” Murphy said. “People are sad, but they are patient and grateful for all the help pouring in across the world. The scope of the damage is constantly growing wider, and the news channels are continually updating and reporting the status of search and rescue efforts. The news is becoming unbearable to watch. For every rescue story there are hundreds of deaths reported.”
Adjusting to life in Erimo took some getting used to due to the differences between American and Japanese culture, Murphy said.
“One of the main differences is the rigidity of schedules in Japan” she said. “Every day at 7 a.m., over the town PA system, a bell goes off signaling the start of the day. At noon another bell goes off for lunch. Finally, at 5 p.m. the final bell of the day rings signaling the end of the work day.
“Another big difference is the amount of children in Japan is much lower than in Frisco,” she said. “In Frisco, restaurants, theaters and shopping centers are crowded with babies, toddlers and young children. Japan has experienced a negative birth rate for the last few years, so you don't see as many children here as you do in Frisco.”
Murphy is leaving Japan in July to pursue her MBA at Trinity College in Ireland. When she leaves, she said she will miss Erimo.
“It has been a great experience for me,” she said. “All the people I have met have been friendly and welcoming. I live in a small town on the sea, and the community here is very tight. This close sense of community has been a blessing. I have made some lifelong friends here.
The massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Sendai, Japan, also affected the small town of Erimo, which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on two sides and is about 250 miles north of the quake’s epicenter.
A 2004 graduate of Frisco High School, Murphy majored in communication at DePauw University in Indiana before going to Japan as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. Murphy has lived in Erimo, a small fishing village in the Hokkaido prefecture, for nearly three years where she teaches English to children from elementary to high school. She was at Erimo High School when the earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the city.
“I was in the teacher’s office chatting with another teacher about her plans for the weekend when we felt the shaking start,” Murphy said. “This was unlike any of the previous earthquakes we have experienced because the shaking was so prolonged. There was never any confusion. People knew what was happening, they knew how to react and they stayed calm.”
Murphy said the town PA system alerted residents to a potential tsunami and directed people to retreat to higher ground. The warning said that a six-meter tsunami would hit Erimo.
“The high school is one of the tsunami shelters in Erimo, so we were lucky enough to be able to remain where we were,” she said. “I called my parents to let them know I was safe. This was timely because soon after I lost all cell phone service for the next 24 hours. We all gathered around the TV to watch the events unfold around Sendai. These were the worst images I have ever seen. We watched live as waves of mud picked up homes, cars and burning buildings and carried them inland. We watched cars attempting to outrun the giant waves of water and mud coming at them.”
The damage done by the tsunami and earthquake in Erimo is already starting to be repaired.
“The tsunami caused more damage to my town than the earthquake,” she said. “The earthquake caused the road to buckle in a few areas, but the building regulations here are very strict so things here are built to withstand powerful earthquakes. However, nothing is built to withstand a tsunami. The tsunami ruined a few buildings close to the water and also ruined a few roads. One of our roads has cracked, spread and dissolved in areas. Everybody in my town is safe and physically unharmed and the process of rebuilding has already begun. Some of the buildings that were ruined have been dismantled and are now being rebuilt.”
Murphy said prior to the tsunami hitting Erimo, the water receded and was flat and peaceful. Shortly thereafter, she said, the waves came in and flooded the port areas of the city. Roads and buildings along the coast were also damaged by the waves that reached as high as 3 ˝ meters.
“The most interesting part of my experience was watching the fishermen,” Murphy said. “These men are incredibly brave. Instead of retreating to higher ground, they went right out to the tsunami to meet it. As soon as our first tsunami warning went off, all the boats and ships that were docked in Erimo headed out into the ocean. The fishermen stayed in their boats until the tsunami warnings were lifted the next day.”
Murphy said that in the 32 months she has lived in Japan, she has experienced many earthquakes ranging from 3.0 to 7.2 on the Richter scale. Her only previous experience with a tsunami was after the Chilean earthquake in February 2010, when a tsunami with 10-centimeter waves hit the city. She said the waves of that tsunami did little to no damage.
Aftershocks from the earthquake continued all day Friday, resulting in most weekend events being canceled. As of Monday, Murphy said life is getting somewhat back to normal with people returning to work. Erimo is far enough north of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant that Murphy said there have been no evacuations or precautions taken to deal with the potential radiation associated with the damaged reactors.
“People are saying it will take time to rebuild the country both physically and emotionally,” Murphy said. “People are sad, but they are patient and grateful for all the help pouring in across the world. The scope of the damage is constantly growing wider, and the news channels are continually updating and reporting the status of search and rescue efforts. The news is becoming unbearable to watch. For every rescue story there are hundreds of deaths reported.”
Adjusting to life in Erimo took some getting used to due to the differences between American and Japanese culture, Murphy said.
“One of the main differences is the rigidity of schedules in Japan” she said. “Every day at 7 a.m., over the town PA system, a bell goes off signaling the start of the day. At noon another bell goes off for lunch. Finally, at 5 p.m. the final bell of the day rings signaling the end of the work day.
“Another big difference is the amount of children in Japan is much lower than in Frisco,” she said. “In Frisco, restaurants, theaters and shopping centers are crowded with babies, toddlers and young children. Japan has experienced a negative birth rate for the last few years, so you don't see as many children here as you do in Frisco.”
Murphy is leaving Japan in July to pursue her MBA at Trinity College in Ireland. When she leaves, she said she will miss Erimo.
“It has been a great experience for me,” she said. “All the people I have met have been friendly and welcoming. I live in a small town on the sea, and the community here is very tight. This close sense of community has been a blessing. I have made some lifelong friends here.
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