Auto graveyard business born from Japan quake, tsunami disaster

The unfortunate situation in Japan recently has seen much devastation to everything that stood in its path, and cars are no exception, as there were many planted firmly.

As such, Japan has now become home to a throng of auto graveyards, full of the mangled, waterlogged scrapheaps that were once fully functional automobiles. The cars, are laid to rest in neat rows, with license plates fully visible for easy identification, and spray paint indicators on cars where bodies had to be removed from the cabin.

“I parked near the office, saw the tsunami from my window and after the water withdrew, my car was nowhere to be seen,” said Motohiro Yamazaki, who was looking for his Suzuki among hundreds of wrecked cars at auto graveyards in the tsunami-devastated city of Miyako. “I left my drivers licence, work license and health insurance card in the car. I can’t go to the hospital without that.”

Yamazaki has yet to find his car among the wreckage. “I guess it’s somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.” he said, in a sentiment that is probably not that uncommon among survivors.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Reuters