the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake had triggered devastating tsunamis that ripped through hundreds of miles of coastal communities.
I arrived in the Tōhoku region less than 24 hours after the 9.0-magnitude quake struck about 40 miles off the coast, to report on the aftermath for the Telegraph.
That was when I met Shinichiro and heard his story.I had been on a train in Tokyo, more than 260 miles to the south, when the earthquake hit.
Tremors are a fact of life in Japan, but it was immediately apparent that this one was different. Mobile phone apps blared, the driver announced an emergency stop and my carriage came to a halt beneath a bridge that was visibly shaking.
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