I heard a regular whistle sound as I was driving through Ishinomaki. A police officer is standing at an intersection controlling traffic with light bars and a whistle. It must be a tough job in the hot weather.

I moved on to the coastal area, where dust was swirling and roads were submerged. Here, a police officer is wearing a mask to avoid inhaling the dust so I didn’t hear any whistles.

Some areas of the city were severely damaged in the tsunami. Some areas were able to avoid a direct hit but are still flooded. Other areas were able to escape flooding.

In the flooded areas, some stores appear to have only just resumed operations. In the areas directly hit by the tsunami, the progress of restoration is slow in comparison because of severe damage to the buildings.