Protecting lives 1000 years later March 17, 16:13

It has been 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Many stone monuments were erected in the disaster area.

"How to convey the lessons of disasters".

Follow the thoughts put into the stone monument.

Challenge the problem!

Problem

In March 2019, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan announced the establishment of map symbols for the first time in 13 years since 2006.

The purpose is to raise awareness of disaster prevention in our daily lives by displaying on the map a stone monument that describes things related to ○○ that occurred in the past.

Answer the words that apply to the blank ○○ in 4 kanji.

(Urawaaki no Hoshi Girls' Junior High School 2020)

Do you know the name of the new map symbol?

The answer is "natural disaster" and the new map symbol is "natural disaster tradition monument".

Natural disaster tradition monuments are located all over the country and convey various disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and eruptions.

However, there are conspicuous cases where it is not fully utilized, such as being weathered and its existence is unknown.

Therefore, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan made a new map symbol.

A stone monument made from the thoughts of the students

Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, has more than 800 dead and missing due to the earthquake.

Many stone monuments were erected after the earthquake in the town that was severely damaged by the tsunami.

In fact, it was made mainly by the children who were affected by the disaster at that time.

What kind of thought was it made from?

In 2013, when a new stone monument was completed at Onagawa Junior High School, Tomohiro Suzuki greeted as the leader of the activity.

"If a big earthquake hits, escape above this stele."

Students played a central role in the

"I want to save my life 1000 years from now"

activity.

Mr. Suzuki who became a third year university student.

Why did you decide to make a stone monument by yourself as a junior high school student at that time?

Mr. Suzuki

"I was teaching while looking at a town with a lot of debris, and in that class I talked about what we could do to convey the earthquake disaster for posterity."

Lessons that were not used

In fact, there were stone monuments in various parts of Tohoku before the earthquake that told us about past disasters.

It was also in Onagawa-cho, but Suzuki says it wasn't fully utilized.

Mr. Suzuki

"Because of the construction of the town, the stone monument of the tsunami that was in a high place was moved to a low place or went to a place that is not so conspicuous, so the lessons learned at that time were utilized. There was no such thing. "

Did Mr. Suzuki know that there was a stone monument in his hometown before the earthquake?

Mr. Suzuki

"I knew that there was a stone monument there, but I didn't really know what it meant."

Natural disaster tradition monument made by myself

Suzuki and his colleagues aimed to build stone monuments in all 21 villages along the coast of the town, and currently 18 have been completed.

A stone monument was set up where the tsunami arrived to help evacuation.

I also engraved the sentence, "Never move the stone monument."

In addition, we will use the stone monument to conduct evacuation drills with locals.

Instead of "making a stone monument and ending", we worked on activities to save lives.

Continue to convey the lessons of the earthquake

It is said that Suzuki and his colleagues, who became high school students, began to think more deeply about "how to convey the lessons learned from the earthquake" through the activities of building stone monuments.

Therefore, I worked with my friends to create a "textbook for Onagawa life."

We have concretely summarized our own experiences of the disaster and recommendations for life-saving measures based on them.

I wanted the generation who did not know the earthquake to think about disaster prevention.

Of these, the most important thing to save lives was the "bonds of the residents."

Mr. Suzuki:

"If you deepen the bond between people in your neighborhood or nearby, when something happens, you say," If this person says, you have to run away, "or" Let's listen to what this person says. " I thought that I could get involved and evacuate and reduce the damage as much as possible. "

What moves people may be the words of people who know their faces and their connections.

It has been 10 years since "that day".

Mr. Suzuki is still working with his friends to maintain the stone monument and share the lessons learned from the earthquake.

Mr. Suzuki

"10 years is the goal of 1000 years, so it's only 1%. There are many people who feel sad because their homes are washed away, their families are sacrificed, and so on. And because we don't want them to feel that way, we've been active so far, so we want to continue our activities, and eventually we'll pass it on to the generations below us, and that will lead to more and more connections. I think I'm glad that it was 1000 years when I realized it. "

Suzuki and his students raised money inside and outside the town to secure the cost of making stone monuments, and asked companies to cooperate in their school trip to Tokyo.

The final 21st stone monument is scheduled to be completed by 2021.

The "Natural Disaster Tradition Monuments" nationwide are engraved with the sadness of our predecessors and the lessons we want to convey to our descendants.

Why don't you find out what kind of traditional monument is in your area and listen to it?

In "Migake, Curiosity!" Of "Weekly Maru-Knowledge News" (broadcast at 9:00 am on Saturday), we will delve into the news every week on the subject of current affairs presented in the entrance examination.

Let's think of "why?", In fact, "in the first place" that you want to know as a Kamakura caster!

You can also review the past on the corner homepage.

Please take a look from the link below!

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/maruwaka-migake/