ISHINOMAKI, MIYAGI PREF. ¨C In April, 22-year-old Kirara Takahashi will begin work as an elementary school teacher in Miyagi Prefecture, honoring a promise she once made with a close friend who died in the massive tsunami 15 years ago.
Now a fourth-year student at Miyagi University of Education, Takahashi was in first grade at Kadonowaki Elementary School in the coastal city of Ishinomaki on March 11, 2011. She was walking home from school with classmates when powerful tremors from an earthquake suddenly struck.
Gravestones in a nearby cemetery toppled with a thunderous crash. At the suggestion of one of the children with her, the group turned back to the school and then evacuated to higher ground. Takahashi was reunited with her family and spent several days at a neighborhood facility that had been turned into an evacuation shelter.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.