Ancient People Are Still Awesome: Centuries-Old Japanese Tsunami Warning Markers Saved Lives
"High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants," reads the centuries-old stone tablet above. "Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point."
This marker, and several more like it, some more than 600 years old, "dot the coastline" of Japan, according to a report in The Canadian Press. Not all of them were quite as specific: Some acted more as general warnings, lasting reminders of a risk that might only recur every fourth or fifth generation.
One, in the coastal town of Kesennuma, gave instructions: "Always be prepared for unexpected tsunamis. Choose life over your possessions and valuables." Another, in the city of Natori, simply advised, "If an earthquake comes, beware of tsunamis." This was a warning that not everybody heeded: in Natori, where 820 bodies have been found and 1,000 people are still missing, people still left "work early after the earthquake, some picking up their children at school en route, to check the condition of their homes near the coast."
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