Japanese man takes on tsunami in scuba gear and wins

Matthew Humphries -

The disaster that has happened in Japan with an earthquake followed by tsunami is going to take many months to clear up, and many years for people there to deal with. The death toll keeps rising and a lot of what we hear is bad news. But within all the sadness are a few triumphs and stories of downright determination.

43-year-old Hideaki Akaiwa is one of those triumphs. When the tsunami struck his home city of Ishinomaki he was at work, but knew his wife of 20 years was at home with no way to escape the raging torrent of water. All the advice said to get safe and stay safe, but Akaiwa knew his wife could not do that and it was up to him to help her.

So while others fled the area, Akaiwa found himself some scuba gear and dived into the water. We’ve all seen the power of the tsunami and its ability to move vehicles as if they were toys and destroy buildings like they were made of paper. But Akaiwa made it back to his home somehow where his house was flooded.

His wife was on the top floor quickly running out of breathing room, so he shared the respirator and got her out and to safety. But Akaiwa wasn’t finished, his mother was also trapped in another house so he went and found her too, saving both the women in his life.

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