. >> reporter: the tsunami smashed through miyako city in the prefecture. about 16 months later a group of elementary and junior high school teachers in western japan visited the area. among them was akagi, he wanted to see for himself what he and his colleagues could do to protect the children if disaster strike. >> translator: i thought i knew all about the horrors of an earthquake, but now that i've seen the damage, the horror is more real. i want to tell my students about it. >> reporter: the tsunami rolled over tide walls and flattened the area. the water flooded the first floor classrooms and the schoolyard at the junior high. he and his group spoke with the teachers. the visitors wanted to learn what they could do to minimize casualties at their own schools. the principal says he evacuated 120 students to one of the offices. >> translator: parents started coming pick up the children on the night of the disaster but i refused. our shelter was the safest place and we had access to the most information. >> translator: we ordered all students to evacuate