美軍協助仙台機場重開

Recently the FNN News reported the following:
東日本大震災で壊滅的な被害を受けた仙台空港は、機能は完全に停止し、一部を残して滑走路のほとんどが水没した。陸上自衛隊の笠松 誠1等陸佐は、「最初はこれでしたからね。これを見たら、もう絶対、この空港、もうアウトだと思いますよね」と話した。しかし、震災から5日目にして、滑走路からがれきが撤去された。仙台空港は3月16日、飛行機の発着が可能となり、救援物資の中継地となった。短期間で物資の運搬を可能にしたのは、自衛隊、アメリカ軍、空港関係者による不眠不休の共同作業だった。復旧作業にあたったアメリカ軍兵士は、「飛行機が着陸できるため、シャベルやほうきで滑走路を掃除しました」、「みんな、朝から晩まで、一生懸命に作業を行った」と語った。アメリカ軍は、閉鎖中の空港ターミナルに宿泊し、作業を続けた。仙台空港では、3月31日、滑走路のがれきの撤去作業がすべて終了した。非常用の管制塔が設置され、管制機能が復旧し、今後は民間機の発着を目指す。
(試譯文)

The Sendai airport that had suffered catastrophic damages from the East Japan great earthquake had stopped functioning completely, the part of runway that remained were mostly under water. Colonel Kasamatsumakoto of the Ground Self-Defense Force said that ｢It was this at the beginning. When I saw it, I had absolutely thought that this airport was already out｣. However, on the fifth day from the earthquake rubbles were removed from the runway. At the Sendai airport on March 16 airplane arrivals and departures were possible, and it became the relating ground for rescue supplies. It was the round-the-clock joint efforts by the Self Defense Forces, the U.S. Army, and persons related to the airport that the transportation of goods was made possible in such a short period of time. The soldiers of the U.S. Army who had undertaken reconstruction efforts said, "In order to enable the airplanes to land, the runway was cleaned with shovels and brooms" and "everyone worked hard from morning till night". The U.S. Army kept staying in the isolated airport terminal, and worked continuously. All the rubble removal work at the runway in the Sendai airport ended on March 31. The emergency control tower was set up, the control functions were restored, and it aimed at the arrival and departure of the civilian planes in the future.

The US as an alliance is helping Japan to recover from the earthquake disaster.