釜石市役所付近に押し寄せる津波【視聴者提供映像】

Tsunami surging to Kamaishi city office and surrounding area (Footage provided by viewer) The Japanese text is followed by an English translation.
岩手県釜石市を襲う津波の様子を捉えた映像。釜石市在住の山口貴廣氏が撮影。
地震から約40分後の午後3時25分ごろ、津波到達の知らせに騒然とする、釜石市役所(釜石市只越町3丁目)第二庁舎前の通り。避難を急ぐ人々に混じり、撮影者も、わずかに海抜の高い市役所の敷地内へ駆け上がり、カメラを南側遠方へ向ける。
すでに、150メートルほど離れた県道4号線付近で、波しぶきと噴霧が立ちのぼっていた。激しい水流に押し込まれたがれきや自動車が、あっという間に道路を埋め尽くす。港側(画面左・東方向)からの水流は、いつのまにか市役所に近い、辻(つじ)という辻から次々と出て、見る見るうちに勢いを増し、内陸部(画面右・西方向)へ流れていく。
やがて、市役所のつい目前まで激流が押し寄せ、人々の「逃げろ!」という声が飛び交う。撮影者も、さらに一段高い、市役所第一庁舎の入り口付近(当時工事中)まで駆け上がり、ここで撮影を中断した…。

この映像には、この津波によって亡くなられた男性(当時81歳)と女性(当時59歳)の2人の方の直前の姿が収められています。本映像は、それぞれの遺族の了承を得て配信しています。
本映像の配信にあたり、遺族は「とにかく、いち早く逃げる重要性」について、次のように話しています。
【男性の遺族】
「自分の財産を守るため、逃げることをためらい、亡くなった人がたくさんいます。命だけは失ってはいけません。逃げる。これに勝る言葉はありません」
【女性の遺族】
「この映像を見た時、(故人が)逃げるのが、もう少し早ければと何度も思いました。生と死を分けるのは、この少しの差なのだと…」
また、撮影者の山口貴廣氏は、
「目の前で、多くの人が津波に流されていくのを見ました。亡くなった人のことを考ると、1日1日を無駄に生きてはいけない」と話しています。

Footage: A capture of the tsunami attacking Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture. Mr. Takahiro Yamaguchi, a resident of Kamaishi city recorded the video. At around 3:25p.m. approximately 40 minutes since the earthquake, the street in front of the second Kamaishi city hall building (3-chome Tadakoe-cho, Kamaishi city) is in an uproar hearing about the arrival of the tsunami.
Mr. Yamaguchi joins those people rushing to take refuge, running up to the city office’s higher elevated grounds and facing the camera southward, in the distance. About 150 meters away, near prefectural road No.4, mist and sea spray are rising into the air. Rubble and cars that have been pushed inward by fierce currents are filling up the road in an instant. Currents from the bay (Left on screen, to the east) have somehow already reached the intersections near the city office building, increasing its force in mere moments and flowing inland (Right on screen, to the west).
Eventually, a torrent rushes to the front of the city office building, and people shout “Run!” amongst each other. Mr. Yamaguchi runs up even higher, near the entrance of the first city hall building (under construction at the time) and terminates recording on his video camera.

In this footage, there is a final video recording of a man(age 81) and woman (age 59) who passed away due to the tsunami. This footage was made available to distribute under the permission of their bereaved family.
In distributing the footage, the bereaved family talks about the “importance of taking refuge as soon as you can”. They say that…

【Bereaved family of Man】
“There are many people who passed away due to hesitation before evacuation, in order to protect their valuable possessions. There is nothing more valuable than life and one must do everything to protect it. ‘Run for your life’ There are no words stronger than these.”

【Bereaved family of Woman】
“When I saw this footage, I thought about what could’ve been had they (the deceased) begun running a little earlier. The line that divides life and death is dependent on this mere time difference.”

Additionally, Mr. Yamaguchi who recorded the video says, “I’ve seen many people taken by the tsunami before my very eyes. When I think about those people who couldn’t make it, I feel there is not a day I can waste in living.”

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