Shovel, boots, gloves, mask, helmet...

What do CRASH volunteers do in the disaster areas of Tohoku? Whatever is needed, would be the short answer. David, in the red jacket, said that two elderly women cried when they received the curry and rice he served them at a feeding center. It was the first hot meal other than instant ramen that they'd had in two and a half weeks.

 On Friday Don Love and I drove a team of volunteers up to the northernmost base camp of CRASH. It's seven hours' drive north of Tokyo in Iwate Prefecture, near Kamaishi and Otsuchi. Otsuchi is famous for this scene, one you've likely viewed on TV.

The team joins the volunteers organized by the city and heads off with a lunch and tools for an hour long drive to the affected area. They assist people by shoveling the mud, dead fish, seaweed and debris out of their houses. This is of course for the people who still have houses left to clean.

After a hard day's work, they return to the base camp, which was a local house hastily rented to provide a place for volunteers cycling through the area, generally on a two week basis.

While at the camp, we experienced a couple of Tohoku style aftershocks. I've mentioned our apartment sways from side to side like a ship on the sea in an earthquake. In this house, the shoji sliding paper doors on the left of the picture and the fusuma sliding room dividers rattle loudly for about three seconds before the violent shaking begins. The frequent aftershocks and the pungent aroma of the disaster area are two things the volunteers have to get used to as they seek to serve the people of the area. In addition CRASH is providing dosimeters to keep track of radiation exposure, just to be safe.