Sea and mountains laid on one side, of what was said to be blocked by houses before tsunami. One could only gather pieces of positive outlook after such despair. We roamed around as I documented every sight of remains of destroyed buildings along with tranquil nature as if the giant monster had been put to sleep. It was my first day of the duty but the endless sight of severe damages put me to disbelief. There was a limit to what I can comprehend from the sight, no matter how bad the wreckage looks, my mind simply can’t go beyond. I don’t think those who have experienced it is capable either.
At one point the car made a turn. I asked why and my peer casually said he could not find the place we headed for lunch, must have been swept off.
Tsunami was only one of the impacts, next was the liquefaction site. The term is rarely heard, much like it is to happen. The look of apocalyptic no man's land had never been that close. The soil lost strength and liquified like mud, as it sucked, buried, kneading whatever on top and hardened over time. Victims underground most likely will never be found. Not because it is technically impossible, it is because wrecked bodies will likely spread harmful bacteria, at least that was stated to justify the evacuation discharge. Houses were astray, far off dislocated by mud, making it impossible for the persistent victim’s relative with the searching. The news stated that the ground will be kept as it is, excavation won’t flatten it like once had been. Most of the damaged houses were removed for easier access and prevent prolonged trauma.
The mundane items scattered all over places: clothes, holy book, trophy, and kids’ belongings, to mention a few. The car wreckages made a sight of unimaginable causality, thrust to the ground, up-down, sideways. Some happened to look like showroom cars, with a price tag attached. Both airbags flopped, once inflated. We could cluelessly conclude they might be more fortunate, emerged on the surface among many more that were hopelessly buried beneath.
Some of the passer-by covered their noses only then to be reminded that the place might still retain the pungent smell to it. I did not notice any scent and for the most part, much of its atmosphere suggests no presence of the living that I forgot they were not just soil and wreckages… Although they might also be reminisced by strong scent it had 2 months ago, that tunes their reflex until now, three months later.
There was guilt in being curious to explore. This project is part of aid relief in many forms, so I could not help to see the importance of being on-site although my part might be not as technical compared to the previous wave of SPI and army’s workers.
The inanimate object is one thing, the eyes taken aback by flashing memory from people I talked to is another thing. Both help the mind’s attempt to comprehend disastrous tragedy first-hand, which had subconsciously embedded within us to never first-hand experience it. But that’s what they thought too. It definitely still lingered in the survivors as two minor earthquakes (which I experienced first-hand there) was enough to spark trauma-induced conversation among the neighbors.
This first post, like Palu had on my first impression, is an entrance to a more length-project that was done over there.
