The Big Disaster

- The Memory of A Certain Witness in Jan. 17th, 1995 -

by Kmakow98

It was calm and partly clouded early morning.

Last night before the day, I went to the bed around 10:30 PM., which 3 holidays were almost finished, and I remind I should be in the bed earlier than usual because I must wake up alone next morning. My wife and my son was in Kyoto.
Also, I remembered and made me sure that tomorrow evening is to be a new year's party with my colleagues.
Alas, The whole my expected schedule have been broken and the day of big sufferings just started from the early next morning.

I could impulsively opened my eyes before the tiny shock of the earthquake, which habit is normal in my life. Someone will say it the "6th sense", but I don't know whether it is true. Anyhow, I could immediately felt and recognized the start of earthquake, though I could not forecast whether it would become big or not.
Then the wide waves came and surprised me. I could not remember the whole pattern of all waves, but the first few waves were enough for me to understand the earthquake to be bigger. Surely, the next quakes came with the roar of the earth, which sounded like a thunder or wild animal. Soon came after it was blackout. I felt the fear, because the waves shake out, vertically and horizontally, which stuck me into bed like in the jet-coaster.
During the greatest vibrations, my home building was inclined so hard such that I was going to be died together with the collapse of the building.
Of course fortunately, the building and also my life survived from the main earthquake. Everything has been terminated, live or die, collapsed or still, during 20 seconds of Hanshin Earthquake which had never experienced since Tokyo Earthquake in 1923.

After ceased the vibrations, I tried to find the handy light stored in the shoes locker, moving in the dark on my hands and knees. Removing something fell down on the floor, I could catch the light. This first action I could remember was the instruction of my father who died in last December. His instruction was very simple, "After the earthquake, confirm the door open". I honestly followed it, and I tried to open. Good luck! It opened.
Soon after I opened and locked the door, The next door was opened too. The man of next door carried the light and said, "Oh, It was great vibrations, wasn't it!". I said, "Unbelievable affair. How and what shall I do in the dark?". There were sighs of both. Then we discussed something about the safe of both families. And I proposed, "We should better switch on the portable radio". From the earphone, I heard the repeated announcement of "The earthquake occurred in Kansai area at 5:46 AM". But during few hours, the radio information were unclear and in confusion.
Then came were aftershocks. In the dark, sounds and voices of someone were heard, who bring portable light. I also go downstairs and join them. An old man of ground floor reported the thunder light in the sky at the beginning of the vibration. Another man started the car engine for heating and hearing the radio. The other old man talk about the big earthquake experienced when he was young at Tottori. Many people gathered. The chief of administrating committee of my building asked whether the building habitants are safe. During his calls, I and some men looked for the damages on the wall or foundations. No obvious damage or crack was found. (A month later, I fond a crack inside my room at the joint of old structure and expanded structure. Also the new administration committee found the elongated bolts fixing the water tank on the roof.)

The dark sky became little bit painted blue. Fires were found in many places in downtown. No siren of fire engine is heard and it will not ceased, in contrary it became strong.
It was a fearful scene in the silence. This unusual silence continued whole that day.
The cold atmosphere let me back my room. The sky became from blue to whiter. It was 6:30 AM.
The radio started to announce the details of heavy damages of highway and railway, one by one. I recognized its seriousness so that I tried to make a phone call to my mother, my brother and the home of my another brother who died in last December, where my wife and my son stayed. (The radio always switched on from that day was his.) I shortly reported my safe. All of them were not so serious because they are not well aware of TV or radio report yet. My wife wanted to return home, but I explained unavailability of all the traffics and convinced her to stay there. The jam of the telephone line took place after these calls.
I got hungry when the sky fully whitened. I ate "Oden" (boiled foods like fish paste, egg, radish, and so on, in sweet soy sauce) cooked yesterday by my wife, same meal as last night. After this simple breakfast, I looked outside of the window. It has seen fires, where enlarged in some places. It was 8:00 AM.
The radio repeated the collapse of highway. In my home, I found many small articles fell down from tables or desks. No furniture and no tableware was damaged, only glass case of a doll broken. I cleaned and put them to their places.
I went outdoor and walked around the block situated hillside of Rokko mountains where my house belongs to. There found no harmful damage. The brick walls of two houses fell down were found. A young man who went downtown by car reported, "The railway station and their columns were heavily damaged. Many wooden houses too. There was a smell of gas where pipeline cut off. In front of police office or fire station, people crowded waiting for the rescue and firemen, but no officer remaining. It's a really big disaster!". What happened and what shall I do!
When passing through the bus stop, a man of 50's wearing suit and a gray coat was waiting for the bus. I told him, "I assure you the bus never comes any more". He went back toward home, as if he gave up going his office. (According to a TV report, a typical "company soldier" reached his office by foot spending 6 or 7 hours from home.)

I had nothing to do other than watching the results of the earthquake. I started to go downtown. Passing through Kobe University, near Hankyu Railway, there were cracks on the earth and street, crashed houses or the building with pressed ground floor. Unbelievable and abnormal scene!
At a primary school, people are gathered or gathering from broken houses. A shrine and its stone gate at south of Hankyu Rokko station was torn down. A wooden apartment house next to it has become a hill of wastes. Then I saw and surprised me was the co-op store, where pillars of ground floor was damaged and inclined upper floors. Opposite side of the street, there was a completely pressed ground floor, and 2nd floor now became to ground floor! It was 9:00 AM.
Going more southward was Rokkomichi station where I every day get on the train. Oh, my God! Girders usually located 4 or 5 meters above fell down to my height. Even a girder at west end of the station touched down to the earth. The entrance of the station was also collapsed, but a gap in glass door could be found. I believed that the officers and passengers might escape. (Lately I heard all of them were safe.) I hesitated to pass through the broken girders so that I returned to north.

Northwest near to the station was the fire. Suddenly, I felt the distinct vibration of street by an aftershock. An aged lady wearing blanket shouted almost crying, "quake again!". Her family or neighbors lulled her.
The fire had been spread in 1 or 2 blocks, and most of the houses within fire were already burnt to ashes or wastes. The peripherals of burnt area are still in fire. A member of private fire brigades of the shopping center fought with the fire, by only one tiny engine driven pump. But its pressure was too low to cease fire. Neither fireman nor fire engine presented. I felt anxious about the master of watch shop in burnt area who exchanged the battery of my watch. There was no trace of the shop. (I don't know where he is now though his name was not found in the list of deaths.)

When I returned home, the mother in law of the next door got off the car. She was rescued from her broken house, and wore wet and dirty pajamas. She told cold and hungry.
The radio reported the details of the damages on, highway, railway, buildings and the fires took places anywhere in the Kobe city.
I could do nothing other than listening to the radio or sipping coffee. I could not contact with my family, my office and also my friends, loosing the communication or traffic measures. The radio announced the interruption of water and gas. But water was available until next morning, while the service tank in the block remaining. Gas was available too, while the pressure remaining in pipeline. Of course, the electricity was still out of service. It was 11:00 AM.
I took earlier lunch of "Oden" again. The pan was then emptied.
I was anxious about towns and my office. I was not sure how and whether I could reach my office. I summed up the time, about 3 hours to go and 6 hours until return home. I tried to go to farthest where I could. It was 10 minutes before noon.

I went westward along with Hankyu Railway. I saw many houses and apartment houses broken. I reached another fired houses, where some firemen fought by water. But the fire was too strong to cease because of only one nozzle. The parked car in front a house was in fire. The policemen controlled the people not to be involved fire.
A remarkable fact was reminded in my impression that many people rationally reacted. They silently carried the furniture out of house and other households or waited for the ceasing fire, without crying or shouting.
I continued to walk westward. When I reached the zoo, I saw the railway curved like a snake. The athletic stadium was damaged its stone wall. every shopping center consisting of old and small stores were terribly collapsed. Most of the houses seemed like standing were inclined. The chimney of public bath fell down. The street were waved so that hard to walk through.
The roads were fully crowded by the cars with escapes. The fire engines and police cars warned to hurry them by the loudspeakers, but it had no force.

I reached to near Sannomiya. I saw some girders of railway crossing above roads, which distorted or almost dropped. In contrary, concrete made girders remained.
When I arrived Sannomiya, the central downtown in Kobe city, I was much surprised of many buildings heavily damaged. Most of them was crushed and pressed certain floor. Seeing from Sannomiya station, pressed floors were ground floor of Hanshin Bank at north east, Sakura Bank belonging to Nihon Seimei (Japan Insurance Co.) at north and a building owned by real estate agency seemed to be 30 degrees inclined. (This building fell down to the earth by the aftershock in this evening.) At west side of the station, The station building of Hankyu Railway had pressed floors ground, 6th and 7th floor where higher floors were movie theaters. Opposite side of railway was namely Travel Center Bldg. with crashed 3rd floor. Further southward was San-Plaza (shopping center) with pressed 8th floor. Just south of the station was Sogo Department Store, 1st floor, and Sannomiya Bldg. North House, 4th floor. (Lately I knew was Kobe City Hall and other many crushed buildings.) I was much surprised how strong forces attacked these buildings.
It was already passed 3:00 PM. I gave up to go to my office because it had no time to return home before sunset. I turned my steps to east to return along with Route 2.
Shall I go to my office as usual tomorrow morning ? No joke !

Few hundred meters walked to east was Ikuta Creek I saw a 4 storied building fired and fell down to the earth. Few hundred meters further eastward, there were people gathered around one of the broken house. At the top, someone shouted inside to look for their family. I could not stop tears.
Then I passed the golf balls factory run by Dunlop, where many cracks were found looked like web. A man seems to be a board member entered into the factory. Next to this factory was Kobe Steel. All major 4 office buildings were heavily damaged, and one of them was hardly inclined.
At the end of Kobe Steel, I reached to Iwaya Station of Hanshin Railway. Further east of the station was Iwaya shopping center. Most of the shops were old and small, therefore, they were completely damaged and the wastes were thrown toward the street, which made its width half. It was 4:00 PM, one and half an hour to my home.
I continued to walk eastward. I could find a drugstore opened and people formed a queue waited for their turn in good manner. They were all silent and exhausted.
When I was back home at the dawn, luckily, electricity was resumed. I immediately switched on the TV. I knew many affairs suffered from the earthquake, damage of Shinkansen, big fire in Nagata area, rapidly increasing the deaths and other facts ever I didn't know yet.
At 6:00 PM I cooked something, though I cannot remember the menu, by remaining water and gas. I rather feared of the repeated aftershocks came every 20 or 30 minutes. It started with prior sound of "tap" like hammering the wall and then vibrations. It made me feel lonely and sad, and no attended family made worse still.

I could not sleep all the night, and I decided to escaped the home.
Early next morning, I made a telephone call to my wife and I left home 6:00 AM to where my family waited for, bringing some foods and the medicine of my wife......

I'll never forget the day of earthquake. I believe many people in suffered area will have their own strong memories whole the life. They all know that 5,600 bodies have been killed while 3 million habitants have suffered from the earthquake.
Moreover, I'm sure that 5:46 AM January 17th, 1995 in Kobe will be recorded in the human history beside 11:58 AM September 1st, 1923 in Tokyo.

To the readers :

This is an abstract of my letter dated February 26, 1995 to my brother. I hope you may understand what I saw and how I felt in that day. If you can hardly understand, it is fully responsible to me because of my poor knowledge of English language.

June 17, 1995, at Kobe