The tragedy in New Zealand reminds me of a disaster I saw firsthand 16 years ago. The catastrophic earthquake which hit large cities around Kobe, Japan easily transformed peaceful towns into hell. When I first stepped into the ruined areas, piles of rubbles and the wreckage of buildings really made me realize the destructive power of nature. At the same time, a cruel mix of peace and tragedy here and there astonished me. A familiar place had changed to the point where I wasn't able to recognize it. In contrast, the next area across a street looked ordinary and there seemed to be nothing to change. The street determined many people's destinies. On top of that, ten or twenty minutes driving from a disaster area was long enough to find another world. In fact, when some friends of mine who were forced to be evacuated their towns could manage to reach downtown Osaka (Usually, it takes only 15 minutes from their towns to Osaka by train), they doubted what they were seeing there. They were stunned to see that Osaka looked normal and everything there was going on as if nothing had happened.
When the catastrophic earthquake hit Christchurch, there were a lot of Japanese people there. It's assumed that over 40 Japanese students were in a building where an English school was located. Unfortunately, the building completely collapsed and 28 of the students are still missing. Because of this, the quake has been widely reported in Japan and the information has been frequently updated. According to the news, the school is popular among Japanese nurses since it offers a special English program for nurses. So, the missing includes several experienced Japanese nurses. The farther of a 41-year-old missing Japanese nurse said that he believed she was trying to save as many lives as she could at the disaster site because this was exactly what she wanted to do. He added that given the circumstances reported, he knew that he had to prepare himself for accepting the harsh fact on her. It's reported; "she belongs to MEDECINS DU MONDE JAPON (Doctors of the World Japan) and has been to Asian countries to help people as a volunteer nurse during her holidays. She can speak French and Mandarin. She has been attending the aforementioned English school since January to study medical English". Other missing nurses have similar stories, as well.
I hope that as many people as possible will be rescued.
