The Great East Japan Earthquake – support and outreach from Tono City and its residents
City of Tono, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
At 1:40am - 11 hours after the earthquake struck - a man from the neighbouring town of Otsuchi ran into Tono City’s Emergency Response Centre and described how 500 residents had been forced to take refuge in a school building, and that they had no access to food or water. Up until this point, none of us in Tono City had any idea about the scale of the devastation. But within minutes, staff were dispatched from the centre to provide assistance to those in need.