EPISODE 14: 2011 TŌHOKU EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI, JAPAN

Ruth Millington's Extreme Holidays Podcast

Listen in to this EXTREME tale of bravery from 9/11 hero and world traveller, David T. Garrison!
How would you spend time off work? Relaxing? Visiting family and friends? David T. Garrison did the exact opposite and went out to help in one of the most devastating earthquakes and tsunamis to hit Japan. You can’t get a more extreme holiday than this!
On 11th March 2011, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake hit just off the coast of Japan followed by a tsunami that decimated 400 miles of east coastline and severely damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, north of Tokyo. As hundreds of thousands of citizens fled the area and ex-pats were told to leave Japan due to the risk of a nuclear catastrophe, David T. Garrison did an incredibly brave thing - boarded a flight from The States to Japan and went to assist those in need. Partially raised in Japan, David discusses what it was like to go back to the country he fell in love with as a child, the magnitude of the disaster and the work he undertook and strategies he employed in providing relief. We also discuss the risks he faced from radiation poisoning, trauma, PSTD and the other rescue missions he has worked on including 9/11. David also reveals his famous ancestor!

David was born in Wilmington NC USA. Part of his childhood was spent in Japan. At the age of 18 he became an Emergency Medical Technician and then worked in sector including Rescue/Fire, Home Care and Clinical Hospital setting for close to 30 years. He joined the American Red Cross in 2007 and has worked on Disasters in 14 US States including Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the California for Wildfires, and for Hurricane Maria in Costa Rica and 9/11. You can find him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/david.t.garrison.9

Production (for this episode)

Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth Millington
Music credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusH
Additional Music - Samurai Asian Music for Backgrou
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