Watch: Japanese man grabs pets and flees mid-breakfast after Tsunami alert

Mint

2 days ago

As a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake jolted areas near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, tsunami alerts were triggered across coastal regions, including parts of Japan. Among the many who had to evacuate urgently was a Japanese content creator who captured his dramatic escape on camera.
Yuu, a travel photographer based in Japan, shared a video on Instagram showing the moment he had to flee his seaside home just minutes after the alert.
'I live about a 10-minute walk from the ocean, so when an earthquake occurs, I always have to be mindful of the risk of a tsunami,' he wrote.
In the now-viral clip, Yuu is seen preparing breakfast when he suddenly receives the evacuation alert. Without wasting time, he places his cat into a backpack, carefully secures his pet bird in a carrier, grabs his camera gear, and heads out.
"My priority was getting my pets, my cat and my bird out safely. I left the pancakes I was making for breakfast still sitting in the frying pan, quickly packed just a little camera gear into my bag, and headed to the designated evacuation site at the local middle school," he wrote in the caption.
He rushed to the designated evacuation centre at a nearby middle school, only to discover that pets were not allowed inside. While many residents waited in air-conditioned classrooms, Yuu and others with animals were made to stay outside in the heat.
'Through this tsunami warning experience, I realised I need to be much more prepared for disasters,' he later wrote in the caption.
The video struck a chord online and gathered over 4 lakh views at the time of writing this article. Several Instagram users praised his presence of mind and compassion in the comments section.
A user wrote, "I'm glad you and your beloved pets are safe."
Another user wrote, "Hope everything got well and you and your pets are safe.I am so glad that your first priority are your pets .Please take care of yourself."