After the wave passed, a chaotic mountain of debris was all that was left of Kamaishi, Japan’s oldest steel-manufacturing town, in Iwate prefecture. It looked like the aftermath of the firebombing of Tokyo, or like Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atomic bombs fell.
东京——海啸以每秒8米的速度冲入城镇，这一速度与金牌短跑选手的奔跑速度大体相当。 海浪高达15米，比撑杆跳所允许的最大高度还要高。 船只被冲上山坡，汽车则像船一样漂在水面上。 潮涌过后，日本历史最悠久的钢铁制造重镇岩手县釜石市变成了杂乱的瓦砾场。 场面就像东京刚刚遭受到燃烧弹袭击，或者像原子弹刚刚在广岛和长崎爆炸。