When the ground shook and buildings trembled that cold afternoon in March 2011, the first words to come into Gina Konishi's head were "Diyos ko po," a Tagalog prayer that means "God please help me."

The 32-year-old Filipino resident of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, was with her 2-month-old daughter for a regular health checkup when the magnitude 9 earthquake hit off the east coast of Tohoku. Along with her 59-year-old Japanese husband, Yukio, the three immediately fled by car to higher ground.

She did not see the tsunami. She only recalls hearing the rumbling from the collision of moving buildings.