Tuesday, January 17, 1995 : The Great Hanshin Earthquake in Japan
© 安岡喜晴 (JoyShine)
I was asleep and dreaming in bed.
In the dream, I started hearing the song of my favorite baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers.
Then, suddenly, a loud rumbling noise interrupted my dream, and I woke up.
At first, I didn't immediately understand what was happening, but instinctively, I realized that I had to quickly get out of bed and get under a desk.
The quake was so strong, and I was half asleep, so it wasn't easy to reach the desk.
My mother and I supported each other, stumbled, and managed to reach the desk.
After we reached under the desk, the earthquake continued for a while.
I went down to the first floor and watched a TV news program about the earthquake.
The TV showed a lot of infrastructure was damaged, and three major train lines in the area were down.
Around 7 AM, another strong earthquake struck.
This one was much weaker than the previous quake, but it was still so strong that my sister and I had to rush under the desk.
I had to stay home from school.
After that, I went back upstairs to take a nap, and when I woke up hours later, I went down again and saw the shocking footage on TV.
The city was burning, the city was engulfed in flames, it was hard to believe, but the footage on TV showed the terrifying reality.
I hoped for everyone's safety.