Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, was called a "hellish sight" Saturday after suffering some of the worst damage in Friday's devastating earthquake and resulting tsunamis.
Black smoke belched from fires that continued to spread even after daybreak in this city on the Sanriku Coast with a population of 75,700.
All but the platform of Minami-Kesennuma Station on the JR Kesennuma Line was swept away by tsunami as if it had never existed.
Also hit by tsunami, the city's central community center near the station was flooded to the second-floor ceiling, forcing people evacuated there to stay overnight on the third floor, community center officials said.
Many wrecked cars and trucks lay amidst heaps of rubble, while broken houses were swept down the Okawa river along the JR line. The water continued to ebb and flow with waves from the sea.
Wood and other debris blanketed the street leading to the city's fish market, making it impassable at a point near the railway station. A medium-size fishing boat and clumps of dead fish also had washed up there, covered with mud.
Some residents were seen braving the dangerous scene to head home, saying they were worried about the valuables they left behind when evacuating.
Satoshi Abe, a 55-year-old office worker of Kesennuma, said in a stupor, "This is a hellish sight I can hardly believe.
"I'm afraid there may be tsunami victims beneath the rubble."
Dozens of people who narrowly escaped the lethal tsunami by climbing to rooftops begged for food and cried that relatives had been lost.
Resident Kazuo Chiba, 65, said he attempted to flee by car after telling his subordinates at the factory he heads to leave. He was unable to, however, due to bumper-to-bumper traffic.
He abandoned the vehicle and sought shelter in a vacant unit of a nearby apartment building, immediately before a furious tsunami struck the area.
"I surely would have died if I hadn't gotten into the apartment," Chiba said, "But I still can't contact my family by mobile phone."
