MedLIS

Matt Ketchum stayed in Miyako to help clean up after the tsunami. (Photo by Pittsburgh Tribune Review) He stayed with his close friend Seiji Shimoyama and his family, who housed and fed 10 young men, now houseless, but not homeless as long as Mrs. Shimoyama had anything to say about it. Everyday, they gathered together for breakfast, then ventured out with shovels, brooms and tools to do what they could in their community.

Matt Ketchum stayed in Miyako, Iwate following the earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011. We knew he would, although we longed to see him safe again back in the states.

Miyako and Matt, before and after

A few city scenes after the water subsided.

The water did not stop. This video shows it flowing violently, relentlessly through the small city of Miyako. We had no idea if Matthew had survived the earthquake or the tsunami. There was no power, and no way to communicate. After 4 days, we found him by messaging his Japanese Facebook friends, who contacted each other until he was found, alive and well, still in the Temple shelter.