Footage: Capture of the damage situation caused by the tsunami along the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. (Day after the earthquake on 3/12) Aerial footage shot from helicopter above Natori City in the south to Kesennuma City in the north.

Before 9 a.m. near the sea along southern Miyagi Prefecture, the borderline between land and sea had become indistinguishable. Sendai Airport's (Natori City) terminal barely retains its shape while the runway is almost completely submerged.
Near Sendai Bay situated on the borderline of Sendai City (Miyagino Ward) and Tagajo City, fires have broken out among a number of facilities including the JX Nippon Oil & Energy Sendai Oil Refinery Combine, causing a big black cloud of smoke to rise above. There are no fire trucks in sight and one can assume that fire extinguishing attempts are nonexistent. At Matsushima Bay, the body of “Kurikoma,” Japan Coast Guard's patrol boat (2nd Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters) lies tilted, stranded at sea.

The time is past noon and another helicopter is witnessed heading up north along the coast. Above Higashimatsushima City, it is apparent that a major part of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Matsushima Air Base has been flooded. Pointing the camera towards the hangar on grounds, a Blue Impulse is covered in debris. Flying over Ishinomaki City, there are numerous ships of various sizes that have been washed ashore or capsized near Ishinomaki Bay (Industrial Port). Scars left behind by the giant tsunami that attacked this town are clearly apparent among these places: The Ishinomaki Factory of Nippon Paper Group whose container has derailed off the freight line, Kadonowaki Area reduced to ashes by tsunami and fire, and the Minato Area and Watanoha Area located past the mouth of former Kitakami River to the east.

The helicopter heads further north, past the Mangokuura Lake where Onagawa Town lies in ruins. From Onagawa Bay to the plateau of Mangokuura (toward Ishinomaki) about 1km across, it is easy to imagine that the dreadful tsunami had taken its toll, swallowing up the residential area all in one go. Former Ogatsu Town of Monoo District (currently Ogatsu Town of Ishinomaki City) to the north of Onagawa Town is equally destroyed, where a wrecked motor coach has been stranded on top of the damaged “Ogatsu Town Community Center.” Near the estuary of Kitakami River that flows into Oppa Bay, riverbanks on both sides have turned into damp ground, almost in its entirety.

The helicopter continues toward Minamisanriku Town (Motoyoshi District) near Shizugawa Bay in midair. At the center of town in Shizugawa Area, houses have disappeared, leaving a bizarre sight where only the tall skyscrapers remain still standing. On the rooftop of the 4-story Takanokaikan (wedding venue) building, a great number of residents are awaiting rescue. Nearby, earnest rescue operations by the Self-Defense Forces' helicopter are taking place at Shizugawa Public Hospital's rooftop.
To its north, in Utatsu area, Utatsu-Ohashi Bridge along National Route 45 which runs east and west across town has collapsed completely, and around the scattered piers lay long scraps of broken bridge, forming gigantic lumps from place to place.

At the sea surface, mass amounts of collected debris have come to look like an “island.” The helicopter heads further north, towards Kesennuma City, where white and black smoke are trailing along everywhere, signaling the ghastly situation below.

Report from helicopter: Announcers Yoshio Shinoda (Okayama Broadcasting) and Tsuyoshi Yanagisawa (Sendai Television)