Yuko Sugimoto, wrapped in a blanket, stands as she looks at tsunami damage in the town at Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture. A year ago, the desperate young mother stood amid the ruins of her devastated city as she scoured tsunami wreckage for her missing son. Twelve months later, Sugimoto and her family are reunited and living in a temporary home, but the scars from the catastrophe still remain.
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Children and teachers from Ishinomaki Mizuho No.2 kindergarten take shelter on the roof of their school during the tsunami following Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake. This photo was taken by head teacher Hiroaki Tsuda with his mobile phone on March 11, 2011. Yuko Sugimoto’s son Raito was among the children that survived the disaster as they waited on the rooftop and stayed through the night until the Coast Guard rescued them the following morning.
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Tsunami waters approach the rooftop of Ishinomaki Mizuho No.2 kindergarten where children and teachers escaped to during the tsunami following Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake in northern Japan in this photo taken by head teacher Hiroaki Tsuda with his mobile phone.
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Tsunami waters approach the rooftop of Ishinomaki Mizuho No.2 kindergarten.
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Yuko Sugimoto poses with her five-year-old son Raito, right. Sugimoto was was photographed covered with a blanket on March 13, 2011 while looking for her son after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Twelve months on, Yuko Sugimoto and her family are reunited and living in a temporary home, but the scars from the catastrophe still remain.
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Yuko Sugimoto stands inside her house that was ruined following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki.
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Yuko Sugimoto is pictured holding a photo of herself and standing in the same place she stood in March 13, 2011 after the area was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan.
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Yuko Sugimoto and her son Raito stand at the same place she stood in March 13, 2011 after the area was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan.
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Yuko Sugimoto looks at her son Raito as he talks about his friend who had passed away, during their visit to the Ishinomaki Mizuho No.2 kindergarten in Ishinomaki, northern Japan.
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Yuko Sugimoto’s son Raito stands in front of Ishinomaki Mizuho No.2 kindergarten where a banner reading “Thank you, move forward” hangs at the entrance in Ishinomaki, northern Japan.
REUTERS
