6. My Memory Of Great East Japan Earthquake

On March 11th 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake happened suddenly. Until the earthquake happened, most of people spent everyday life. I did, too and never thought that the earthquake happened. However the tragedy occurred all of a sudden.

I have ever lived in Ibaraki since I was born. So, my town was damaged. Especially, a lot of historical buildings tumbled down and are not perfectly repaired still now. So, my town's tourist industry has been affected.

When the earthquake happened, I was in the principal's office. The successive principal's photograph felt down then. Also, most of the book shelves in school were collapsed and some windows broke. The gym was used for a month. Light went out for almost a day. All students were gathered in a parking lot and a lot of girls were crying. I thought that the world might have ended. We were afraid and felled uneasy. Fortunately, all students and my family were safe.

In the next day, I and my family went to my mother's parents' home in Tochigi. In Tochigi, light was not cut off then. We took a bath and our cell phones were charged. As we came home, light was not cut off. Although tap water stopped in my town, we have well water and hurt for water. Also, we got necessary gas because my father's sister run a gas station and gave it.

My school broke up for about a week. However, we could not use the gym for a month since the gym broke. So, I could not play volleyball for a long time.

Our rival team was in Fukushima and their school places in front of the sea. Although the school was attacked by tsunami, all students were safe. However, some teammates' families died of tsunami. Some teammates quieted volleyball club, while the others continued. The continuing people formed a team with the student in neighborhood school. We gave them some balls and ball bags. They took part in volleyball tournament and they win the championship. But, their championship was not recognized because the team mixed the two schools. The team was broadcasted in Fukushima. After that, they sent a message to us and we were deeply moved.

Although a lot of lives and important things were lost by Great East Japan Earthquake, I learned a lot of things through the earth quake. Also, I hope that peole who experienced the earthquake inform the next generation of that event and the earthquake will have never been forgotten forever.