Self-Defense Forces vehicles kick up clouds of dust as they make their way through narrow streets cleared through the piles of crushed houses, shops and fishing boats scattered like broken toys by the massive tsunami that killed thousands and flooded nearly half of this once beautiful city.

Ishinomaki is in ruins.

Despite all the aid and support pouring in every day to rebuild, the city's inhabitants still suffer from a chronic shortage of housing and daily necessities, as well as sufficient manpower to clear out the rubble and restore the wrecked local infrastructure.