The Federal Member for Mitchell, Alex Hawke MP spoke in Parliament to remember the devasting affect of not one but three disasters that befell Japan on 11 March 2011

“The earthquake hit at a magnitude of 9,

one of the highest ever recorded earthquakes in world

history.

There were over 580 aftershocks at level 5 or greater,

which triggered a tsunami of an unimaginable scale and

 led to the nuclear incident off Fukushima.

The disaster, known as 3/11, represented an

unprecedented challenge for Japan and its

people, Mr Hawke said.

“I recently had the opportunity to lead a delegation of

Australian MP’s and young political leaders to Japan

where we visited the Miyagi Prefecture

and Fukushima Prefecture exactly one year later.

We saw horrific scenes of devastation in

every town that we visited. The vast nature of this

terrible disaster was beyond comprehension.

“We visited the empty space that was once

the coastal town of Minamisanriku.

Standing in front of  the skeletal remains of the

disaster centre was a profoundly moving experience.

The only structure left in this entire plain was the

twisted metal of the disaster structure

which was made of reinforced steel.

On level 3, you could still see the machine

that was used to warn the entire town

that a tsunami was coming.

We heard the story of a young 25-year-old Japanese girl,

who made the announcement to warn her

fellow citizens that a tsunami was coming.

She was swept away an hour later—that

certainly moved all of us on the delegation, said Alex Hawke.

“The Japanese people are overwhelmingly grateful to

Australia for the support and the deep

and profound assistance we have provided them.

There have been so many individual and business donations

by Australians, all of which were deeply appreciated by Japan.

“From my own visit and the visit of this delegation,

I can say that out of the terrible tragedies of 11 March 2011,

the people of Miyagi and Fukushima, and of Japan, are

working hard to rebuild and planning for a better future, said Alex Hawke.

“One year on from the triple 11 disasters,

our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan,

those who lost their lives and the families who lost loved ones”, concluded Alex Hawke.