Holy crap. The surge of seawater into the city is just insane. I just saw this amateur video taken at Miyako City during the initial surge. The individual was fortunate enough to have survived (and it looks like he was at least 4-floors up) to share this video.
What I did not expect was how powerful the surge was. This wasn't a traditional tsunami that we saw during the Thailand earthquakes back in 2004, but the surge of seawater was still devastating. I was in awe seeing houses being moved, and the surge was so great that it flooded up to the second floor, blowing out all the windows. The only buildings left standing were the tall concrete structures.
It is no wonder why there were so many casualties. Many, including myself, just didn't realize how powerful the ocean can be in the mist of an earthquake. Hopefully in our information rich world, this will never be forgotten and the lessons will be learned when this happens in the future.
Tsunamis and ocean surges are a serious thing. I'm still impressed how many ignorant people there were in California who actually traveled to the coast to "see" the surge. I guess curiosity did kill the cat.
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