In the Midst of Terror

An Evil Force of Nature

By Michael Brussard

 

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            Without any warning it arrived like a “thief in the night”.  The world as I knew it when I woke up at 5:00 in the morning was suddenly obscured at 5:46 when the ground beneath me surged in violence.  Just as the temblor began, I was listening to “Hold my Hand” by Hooty and the Blowfish and getting ready for a business trip to Tokyo.  As I reached for a cup of coffee, the four-story apartment building in which I lived was suddenly lifted straight up nearly two feet and slammed back down again.  This action repeated itself four times in the first few seconds before the back and forth, back and forth, side to side shaking commenced.  During the next 20 seconds or so, my 2 bedroom apartment swayed viciously, uncountable times with powerful three foot vibrations.  The forces from below were so intense that everything from the walls and on the floors, from on top of the furniture and from within the closets and cabinets was either dropped, lifted, scattered or thrown about from one room to another.  Windows shattered, doors twisted, dishes broke and cracks popped throughout the concrete walls as the steel reinforcements tried desperately to hold the building together.  It seemed like an endless end of the world and I prayed repeatedly to God, as I truly believed my life was over.  Finally, the eternal Hell stopped.  Just as quickly as it had begun, without any notice, it stopped in dead silence.  The angry world below had settled, but only after it had deeply inscribed and ripped its message in a path that stretched for miles and miles.

 

            What had taken man over 50 years to build was destroyed in less than 30 seconds.  To date, “The Great Hanshin Earthquake” as it was officially named, has claimed over 5,575 lives with 4 still missing, left 300,000 homeless and demolished over 200,000 buildings and manmade structures.  The most beautiful city in all Japan now lays in total ruins, which are only reminiscent of wars evil forces and of course, those of nature.  Nearly one month has past and the lifelines of basic necessities remain severed.  The aftershocks continue to this day and they serve as a constant reminder of this January 17th predawn catastrophe.  It will take at least ten years to recapture the essence of life that most of us in Kobe knew on January 16th.  For many others, that life is gone forever.  Although the single most frightening experience in my life, my personal situation will never compare to the terror and Hell experienced by many others.  I was very fortunate.  I escaped unharmed.  But even as I attempt to regain my daily routine, I am always reminded of the pain and suffering that others less fortunate than myself have experienced.  The roads I travel are riddled with cracks and heaves; on both sides of the streets lay splintered pieces of wood, twisted steel and piles of concrete.  At first it looks like a dump or a recycling yard, but it doesn’t take long for one’s eyes to focus on the personal effects left scattered among the rubble.  Shoes and clothes, crushed TV’s, stereos and furniture and little toys once played with by small children; their homes now reduced to a pile of memories.  Why does it take something like this to make us realize and become grateful for what we have?  I must have asked myself this question repeatedly, a million times since that horrific morning.  But for now the only answers I have are the words of my mother when she tried comforting my boyish curiosity as to why certain things happened.  “Something’s are just meant to be and we may never know or understand,” she would explain in her soft reassuring voice.

 

            Unfortunately, this answer will never satisfy the cries of those who have suffered and lost so much.  Even so, I want to express personally, my appreciation to everyone throughout this world who has prayed for us, supported us and assisted us with this devastating tragedy.  The road to recovery is long and most challenging, but we will persevere.  If anything can be gained from this unfortunate experience, then let us all learn the precious value of life.  How absolutely wonderful and incredible it is to love, to be loved, and to share life with our fellow man.  But most importantly let us realize how quickly and without any warning whatsoever, all that we know, all that we own and all that we are, can be taken away from each of us like a “thief in the night.”  From this day forward, may peace and harmony embrace us all.

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By Michael Brussard

December 21, 2019

Resident of Kobe

1994-1998

Currently residing in USA