Be a Tsunami Survivor
Lessons Learned from Okawa Elementary School
By Takeo Saijo

Recommended by

Toshitaka Katada

Preface
Two years have passed since that hell on earth,the date of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The massive wall of water swallowed everything—irreplaceable family members and homes—
and left many tragedies. In particular the tragedy
that happened to my alma mater, the Okawa Elementary School, cannot be described in words.
I tell myself that this can never happen again.
It is my great pleasure to have the booklet

Be a Tsunami Survivor
Lessons Learned from Okawa Elementary School“Be a Tsunami Survivor” published at this time. I
hope not only that the people in Okawa but thateveryone in the world will read this repeatedly.
That will lead us to the critical goal of this book:“survival action”.

Contents
Preface
Dear Children

June 2013
Mikio Otsuki 3

Mikio Otsuki

Toshitaka Katada 4

Chairman,Okawa District Reconstruction Council

What happened at Okawa Elementary School? 		 6Q & A How to be a Tsunami Survivor		 8
Column on Disaster Prevention

Toshiro Sato 17

Afterword

Takeo Saijo 24

3

Dear Children —On Publishing This Book—
Children with big dreams about their future. Children living happy lives with their families andfriends. The tsunami took the lives of those children. Many of the students at Okawa Elementary School died, as did 5 elementary and middle
school students in Kamaishi City. When we thinkof those children, when we think of the families
and friends of those children... all we can feel isdeep sadness unlike we’ve ever felt before.
This book is a collection of lessons we learned
from tsunamis—about how we can survive tsunamis and disasters.

You need to know about tsunamis if you wantto survive them. But that is not enough. The
most important thing for you is to run for yourlife. When tsunamis hit, no matter when, no matter where, think about yourself first. Please think
about survival. Run for yourself. Run for your life.
That is what is important.
This book is for you… a strong child who cansave your own life.
June 2013

Toshitaka Katada
Director, Research Center for Disaster Prevention
in the Extended Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Gunma University
Professor, Gunma University, National University Corporation

Toshitaka Katada
PhD in Engineering. Worked as the disaster prevention
and risk management advisor in areas such as Kamaishi
City, Iwate and was the central figure in “Miracle in Kamaishi” where many elementary and middle school children
survived tsunamis at the Great East Japan Earthquake.

45

What happened
at Okawa Elementary School?
Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi was
located at about 4km away from the shoreline along with
Kitakami River. It had 108 students and 13 teachers and otherstaff members. At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, there was anearthquake as classes were about to end. Around 2:50 p.m.
after the powerful shaking had stopped, everyone ran to theschoolyard to evacuate.
Parents who came to pick their kids up already knew about
the tsunami and its size—maybe 6m, maybe 10—since they
heard that on the radio. There was a hill right behind theschool, and it would have been a good place to evacuate. So
the assistant principal, other teachers, some parents and students and local residents all asked to go to the hill. Schoolbuses were on standby as well. Then, right after 3:25 p.m.,several cars from the city drove by, with someone shouting,“Go to high ground! The tsunami has passed the pine trees atthe beach!”
Around 3:35 p.m. , the teachers and students tried to headto the spot that was slightly higher than the surrounding
areas. However, after moving only about 170m, a huge tsunami swallowed them.
Meanwhile, Okawa Elementary School lost 70 of the 78
students who were present at the time and 10 of the 11
teachers and staff members. As of June 2013, four students
were still missing. The survival rate was only 5.6%, the worst
tragedy in the school education system since World War II.

6Ishinomaki City

Aomori
Akita

Kitakami
River

Iwate

Yamagata
Miyagi
Fukushima

Nagatsura
Beach

Oppa Bay

Nagatsura
Cove

Okawa
Elementary School
398

Myojin-yama▶ OkawaE l e m e nt a r y
School before
the disaster▲Vicinity of Okawa Elementary Schoolright after the tsunami▲Okawa Elementary School seen from the hillbehind the schoolyard. The hill was a candidate foran evacuation site. The blue rope in front of the tree
on the right is where the tsunami reached.
◀The high ground called “Triangle Zone”, several
meters above the ground level along the river. People were trying to head to the spot to evacuate, but
the tsunami eventually consumed the area.

7

Q1

Why did the tragedy
at Okawa Elementary School happen?

Q2

A

Many suggestions and information
caused a dilemma and delayed decision to evacuate.

Ai

Many reasons are overlapping for the tragedy at Okawa
Elementary School. Unexpected size of tsunami hit thearea which had never experienced tsunami damage. The
school was designated as an shelter in their hazard map.
A lack of software: no evacuation manual, no evacuation
drills neither for children nor parents. Having a series of
big aftershocks, the tsunami had already been informed.
Adults were arguing with dilemma which was safe;
mountain, roads or some other. They finally headed tothe triangle zone, when the tsunami was visible. It was
too late, so many people were washed away instantly.
Tsu
n

Sea

ive

r

Okawa
Elementary School

teach
ers

“triangle
zone”

stude

i

of
Path

Tsunam

nts

Fu
ji R

Shin-Kitakami
Ohashi Bridgeam

Kitakami
River

and

Schoolgrounds

High groundalong the river

A hill behind the elementary school

8

What should we learn
from this tragedy?

Get correct information about tsunamis,
understand that this can happen to you, andprepare for future massive earthquakes.

So many factors caused the tragedy at Okawa Elementary School. One thing is certain. If there had been an
evacuation manual and if evacuation drills assuming theworst-case scenario had occurred, this tragedy would
never have happened and many students and teachers
would still be alive.
Except for those living along the coast, most people
think “I don’t care about tsunamis”, “Our area is safe”. The
truth is, people who lived in inland areas of the Okawa
district and who thought, “This area is safe” were slow toevacuation and were killed by the tsunami. Furthermore,
you may encounter massive earthquakes when you visit
the coast area. When you consider this, no one shouldsay, “I don’t care about tsunamis”.
There will be massive tsunamis in the future. Are wereally ready even if a tsunami that exceeds our expectation comes? Can we survive if we encounter a tsunami
during a visit to the coast? Reading this booklet thoroughly and getting a good understanding of tsunamis
will be one step in learning from the tragedy of Okawa
Elementary School.
9

Q3

A

Can the evacuation manual
be enough to protect our lives?

The manual gives you the basic information. It is your assessment of thesituation that will save your life.

The manual is something like a traffic signal. The rule
is—stop at the red light and go when the signal turns
green. You should still check the traffic and assess yourown safety because you would be in danger if anotherdriver ignored the traffic signal.
So run to the top of a hill when you hear the tsunami
warning and wait until the warning is cleared. This is thefirst step to safeguard your life.
Just as you check the safety of traffic even when thesignal is green, you should assess your safety yourself
when you arrive on the hill.
Move to a higher place if you think the tsunami may
be bigger even if you are in the designated shelter.

10

Q4

A

How can we prepare to copewith the unexpected situation?

Think “What is the best way to protect
my life right now”and MOVE!

You may lose your cool and the ability to make gooddecisions during a disaster. So try to anticipate every
possible situation and be ready to evacuate.
When you find yourself in an unexpected situation,
1: Assess the situation and
2: Think how best to protect your life.
In the case of Okawa Elementary School, people there
hesitated to climb a nearby hill due to a series of ninelarge scale aftershocks. If they had agreed to evacuate toa higher place in case of a tsunami, the students would’ve
had plenty of opportunities to survive by climbing thehill, taking a bus to a higher area and so on.
We all know saving lives is most important. Nonetheless, after the earthquake many people returned to theirhomes to fetch their wallets, checkbook and other “valuables” and were killed. One person ran out of his home
to evacuate but then stayed when he saw many people
hang around. Trust your instincts and save yourself even
if someone says it’s not that serious. Because your life isreally, really important.

11

Q5

I understand the need to assess thesituation, but based on what and how?

Q6

Is it safe to think that there will be
no big tsunami after a small earthquake?

A

Keep in mind, “The bigger the earthquake, the worse the damage.”A

Never underestimate the possibility; asmall “tsunami earthquake” can trigger a big tsunami.

In order to make the right decisions to survive, it is crucial to know that there is a trend—“the bigger the earthquake, the worse the damage”.
This knowledge can help you take appropriate survival action by anticipating serious situations such as
fires, building destruction, tsunamis, landslides andground crack. Evacuate after you feel a strong or longearthquake in anticipation of possible tsunamis.
In Okawa area, the tsunami reached the coast just 50
minutes after the earthquake, but it came next day, as
was the case of the 1960 Chilean tsunami. Tsunamis canhit the coastal area repeatedly, increasing in size eachtime. Never return once you evacuate.

12

A “tsunami earthquake” is an earthquake that causes a
big tsunami even though the earthquake felt in a given
location is small. As discussed in Q5, there is a trend that“the bigger the earthquake, the worse the damage”. Thisis a general “trend” but you may have severe damage
due to the factors like ground instability, topography andother conditions of the area. During the 1896 Meiji Sanriku earthquake, tsunamis hit the coastal area and killed
22,000 people after only a mere tremor was felt on site.
When a tsunami warning is issued on the radio, youmust evacuate from any area near a coast or river eventhough the earthquake you felt was small.

13

Q7

A

If tsunami didn’t come despite ofwarning, isn’t it a waste of timeto evacuate for every alert?

Seeking refuge is not a one-time act. It
is one of your daily habits to stay alive.

If nothing happened after a tsunami alert was issued,
you may think seeking refuge was in vain. After a false
alarm is repeated, you may become insensitive to thewarnings.
You must change your outlook that seeking refuge isa one-time act, instead of a part of your routine to survive a huge disaster that could someday occur.
For example, a car may not hit you the first time you
jaywalk. But if you always jaywalk, it’s likely you’ll be hit
by car and lose your life.
Tsunamis may not always occur. But if you don’t
always evacuate, you increase the odds you will be killed
by a one-time tsunami. So you must evacuate every timea tsunami alert is issued. That is smart survival action.

14

Q8

A

How do we maketsunami evacuation a habit?

The important thing is design a disaster drill that makes people think it isworth practicing.

We tend to stop any actions that we think are pointless.
So to encourage people to participate in a disaster
drill and seek refuge during a tsunami alert, it is important for those actions to be meaningful.
For example, one junior high school made a rule thatduring their tsunami drills after their actual escape tohigh ground, they eat emergency food stock and discussdisaster and their own drills.
Please think out how you could put meaning in yourevacuation drills which would build the foundation of
the “survival action”.

15Column on Disaster Prevention

Q9A

I’d like to teach children how toprotect themselves from a tsunami.
What should I do?

It is crucial that they learn the “threeprinciples” of tsunami evacuation.

In Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, 99.8% of elementaryand junior high school students survived because theyknew the “three principles of tsunami evacuation”, developed by Professor Katada. This high rate of survival iscalled the “Miracle of Kamaishi”.
The principles are: “Do not over-trust hypotheses or
hazard maps”, “Do whatever you can in the situation tosave your own life”, and “Run first even if no one else isevacuating”. Students did not go back home to look fortheir families and lose their lives in the tsunami because
they trusted that the others too would take the necessary “actions to survive” and “they have already evacuated like me”.

Since That Day—As a School Teacher in Charge of Disaster Prevention

I watched from a hill with my students as our town was swallowed by the tsunami. I have been wondering as a school
teacher, and a parent, how serious was I when I used to say“value your life”? Now I see a life when I look at a student. I
understand that the school is entrusted with irreplaceable
lives that are the future of our town.
I have been put in charge of educating students about
disaster prevention at the school where I work. Did the existing disaster prevention manuals and drills really protect students’ lives and raise awareness? Before the Great East Japan
Earthquake, many schools were not prepared for a situation
where school broadcast systems would be unusable due toa power outage and parents and municipal offices could not
be reached. They were not equipped with blankets and foodeven though they were designated as emergency shelters.
I sincerely hope this booklet will be used by families,
municipalities, and experts together to protect our children’s lives and their bright futures.
My daughter was in sixth grade. When I go home, I canstill hear her say: “I can’t wait to go to Junior High”.

Toshiro Sato
Senior teacher, in charge of disaster prevention
at Yamoto Daini Junior High School, Higashimatsushima

Toshiro Sato
He worked at Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School at the time of the Great East
Japan Earthquake. As a member of bereaved family of Okawa Elementary School,
he directs “Chiisana inochi no imi wo kangaeru kai” (The Group that Thinks
About the Meaning of Small Lives) and gives lectures at disaster prevention events
nationwide. He has been in his present position since 2014.

1617

we trust the “tsunami watch” andQ10 Can“tsunami warning” on TV or radio
and take action based on them?

A

Yes and no. You can trust “warnings”.
But the tsunami can be worse.

The “watches” and “warnings” are based on the government’s scientific predictions. But the tsunami that iscoming YOUR way may be different. You should prepare
for your location to be struck by a bigger tsunami thanthe official agency is predicting. This is the rule of thethumb to survive.
In the case of Okawa, many people lost their lives bystaying or returning to their neighborhoods when they
heard the magnitude of the tsunami from radio warnings and thought that their homes would be safe.
When you see the ocean retreat, the river water draw
back, or feel a strong, lengthy earthquake, prepare for atsunami and run immediately to the highest place nearby.
Also, when you hear someone saying “Evacuate,” do as
they say. This is another rule to follow in order to survive.

18

I am away from the sea,
Q11 Ifshould
I still worry about a tsunami?

A

Yes. Tsunamis can surge all the way up
a river channel and reach areas inland
far away from the coast.

A tsunami can travel inland to you. The Okawa Elementary School was 4km away from the coast but the tsunami was higher than 10m. Records show a tsunami
with a 3.8m wave has caused damage 49km inland.
Even if you are away from the coast, remember the riveris always a part of the sea and you should evacuate to ahigher place. In Rikuzentakata city, the tsunami reached
6km inland. If this happened to Tokyo, most of metropolitan area would’ve been hit.
Based on these facts, you should always review thesafety of your home, school and even the evacuation
shelter based on a tsunami tens of meters high.

19damage prediction of big earthquake
Q12 Thealong Nankai Trough has been published.
How should I prepare?

A

Many lives can be saved by being cautious and practicing drills whether or not
the area is included in the prediction.

They say the possibility of a Nankai Trough earthquake
happening in the near future is high. The predicted death
toll could reach as high as 230,000. But if the evacuation
is done promptly, the number could be lowered to onefifth—46,000. We must expect a massive earthquake ortsunami and train ourselves how to react. This way, we
will be able to safeguard our lives.
Also, even if predictions are that your area won’t beaffected, it does not mean it is safe. Areas without previous tsunami experience are damaged tremendously.

live on the coast, but we have never
Q13 Ihada tsunami. Could it really happen?

A

Many people didn’t evacuate because they
were careless about tsunamis after several
cases of earthquakes without tsunamis.

Kamaya village, where Okawa Elementary School is, had
never been hit by a tsunami before. Now 40% of the residents are dead or missing due to the 2011 tsunami.
“It has never happened,” doesn’t mean, “It will never
happen.”Hazard maps are made with data from the past. So
they are just for reference and offer no guarantee thatthose outside of the hazard areas are safe.
You should be prepared for the worst. You should
evacuate at once to survive when you get a warning or
information that a tsunami is coming.
The hazard area
The area struck by the tsunami
Tsunami at 49km inland
was still 3.8m high.

Predicted damage by large earthquakes along Nankai TroughAccording to the experts, the worst-casescenario is…
• Magnitude 9.1• Tsunami higher than 20m in 8 prefectures• Number of death: 323,000 (with number ofdeath from tsunami: 230,000)

20

Okawa
Elementary School
Tsunami at 4km inland
was 10m high.

21are big seawalls in my town.
Q14 There
Should I still evacuate?

A

The tsunami of the Great East Japan
Earthquake went over many big seawalls and crushed them.

You should evacuate. The tsunami of the Great East Japan
Earthquake broke through many massive seawalls. The
seawall in the Taro area of Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture
was the biggest in Japan, but it was crushed by the tsunami. Many people died there after putting too muchfaith in the seawall that saved the area from the Valdivia
Earthquake’s tsunami in 1960. The high water of big tsunamis can go over seawalls without breaking them, andthen the water will rush into the town.

22

I survive if I swim
Q15 Canafter being washed away by a tsunami?
Is wearing a life jacket helpful?

A

It isn’t easy to survive after being swept
away by a tsunami, even if you are agood swimmer.

A tsunami isn’t just a wave of water. It is muddy waterwith wood, cars, and debris. You might have a betterchance of surviving if you can swim, but you will be
helpless with big boards and cars coming towards you
at 70km/h. Many people died from a drop in body temperature after being in the cold water for a long time.
The best way to survive a tsunami is to run to a hill.
But you have to realize that a tsunami can be bigger
and faster than you imagine. The children who survived
at Okawa Elementary School were found floating wearing their helmets. It is better to wear a helmet and life
jacket and prepare for the worst.

23

Afterword: To Keep Hope Shining Bright

The first time I visited Okawa Elementary School

These are T’s words.

was April 2, 2011. As I paid tribute to those who“I lost many friends on March 11. I was swal-

lost their lives, all I could do was listen to the sto-lowed by the black tsunami too. Really cold. Reallyries told by the victims’ tearful families. All I felt

heavy. Really painful. I can’t find any words towas sadness.

explain my fear at that time. I didn’t think I could

Later, at the request of the families of victims, we

make it. But, it’s a miracle that I survived. Not only

formed a research group at Waseda University. We

did I lose my friends and hometown, I also lost someinvestigated over 550 publications such as news-of my family members. My sister, who was only inpapers, books and papers including the reports

the 3rd grade, my mother and my grandmotherby the Education Council at Ishinomaki and otherdied. Recently, I finally started feeling sad about

related articles. We interviewed families, local res-having lost my family. I don’t want anyone else to

idents, city workers and experts on the site. We

feel the same way I do.”studied the results of our research from different
points of view and wrote our own report.

namis. We made this book so people will not feelAt the same time, I approached an expert in

the same sadness again. This book is based onclinical psychology who I deeply trust. I asked

our lengthy extensive research, and we believe it

him to help the families of victims I knew. Also,

can be used for other disasters and situations, not

we started projects for Okawa such as workshops

only limited to tsunamis. If you would like to use

and festivals.

it for the activities of any nonprofit groups or anThen, I got to know the father of T, one of the
few survivors of the Okawa incident. T and his
father were kind enough to volunteer at a festival
and let me stay at their house overnight.

24

We made this book so people will survive tsu-

educational use, please feel free to copy it.

Takeo Saijo
Director, Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan
Okawa Elementary School Research Project Team, Waseda University

25

Takeo Saijo
Director, Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan (PFEJ). Visiting associate professor at the graduate school of commerce (MBA),
Waseda University. Saijo specializes in philosophy and psychology (Ph.D Human Science). He is from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture where he lost a relative to the tsunami. In addition
Saijo used his original qualitative method called “Structural
Construction Qualitative Research Method” to investigate
why 74 students lost their lives at Okawa Elementary School.
He has published 20 books including as “What is structural
constructivism?” and “What is qualitative method”(Books
in Japanese only). He will continue study a organizational
behavior based on structural constructivism. If you are interested in such studies, please contact following address.
Email: info@akademeia.jp.net

We encourage you to translate this brochure
into your native language to help save lives
in the future.

Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan

Copyright© 2014 Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan/Fumbaro Fund, Aug. 2014,
All Rights Reserved“Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan” (PFEJ) is a new supportmodel that was constructed by Takeo Saijo to cope with theunprecedented disaster following the March 11, 2011 massive earthquake that hit Japan. The system made it possible
to make 35,000 deliveries to more than 3,000 temporary
shelters. PFEJ consists of over fifty groups of different sizes
and purposes such as study aids for kids, teaching traditional
Nuno-Zouri, hand-made goods, entertainment, PC + internet
use, horticulture, etc. About 3,000 SNS members in the Facebook group maintain and assist our activities voluntarily. In
2014, PFEJ won the Golden Nica in the Prix Ars Electronica
which is the world’s oldest and most prestigious competition in media art. This means PFEJ is following in the footsteps of famous social systems like the WWW (World WideWeb), Wikipedia and WikiLeaks. Takeo Saijo, PFEJ volunteers
and the Smart Survivor Project (SSPJ) made this brochure asa disaster prevention education project concentrating on
tsunamis. The project is explained in full on our website.

Be a Tsunami Survivor

http://fumbaro.org

If you want to produce this booklet in your native
language, please visit the following website. We canprovide the original illustrations free of charge.
http://wallpaper.fumbaro.org/survivor/english

Lessons Learned from Okawa Elementary SchoolFirst Edition June 1st, 2013
4th Edition July 25, 2014
Author: Takeo Saijo
Editor & Publisher: Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan/Fumbaro Fund
http://fumbaro.org
Illustrations:
Design:Proofreading:Sponsored by:

Mio Saito
Tokuho Mitomi
Misako Nagao
Tomomi ShibazakiStart Today Co.,LTD
Toyota Renta Lease Tochigi Co.,LTD

English Version: Aug. 25, 2014
English Editor:
Translators:

Kathleen KochPeter Addyman
Hitoshi Akiyama
Hiroko Daidoji
Erika Ikeda
Kaori Misono
Kumiko Kubo
Yumiko Pelletier

Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan will be renamed and restarted
as Fumbaro Fund in September 2014.

26