It was to be a life changing moment for local resident Seiko Watanabe.
She watched from Burns Lake as the most powerful earthquake in Japanese history rocked her home country.
The following tsunami washed waves of up to 124 feet nearly 10 kilometres inland, washing away entire villages.
Watanabe's brother lives in the Miyagi prefecture near the earthquake's epicentre, but was fortunately in Tokyo at the time.
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