Coral Springs Teacher Survives Japan Tragedy and Urges Community To Help Victims

March 29, 2011 - PRLog -- Coral Springs teacher Stephanie Lombard counts her blessings each day after living to tell about how she survived the tragic destruction in Japan caused by a devastating earthquake, tsunami and aftershocks.  

After spending nine days- by foot and train and eating only rice and fruit- trying to get back home, Lombard’s return to Coral Springs was a miracle but also bittersweet.    

“I’m still trying to cope with what I went through. I’m feeling survivor’s guilt. I thought once I left I would feel a sense of relief but I felt like I was abandoning the country that gave me a life for a year,” Lombard told the Our Town News, “But it is good to be home.”

Lombard, 24 and a graduate of Coral Springs High School and FAU, was greeted by family and friends this past week. About a year ago, the local teacher traveled to Japan to teach English to students at a private school located in Koriyama.

At the time of the earthquake, Lombard was in the staff room when the first jolt hit. She crawled into the closest doorway and tried to calm students.  

“The first impact felt as if somebody ripped the ground from under you. The earthquake itself felt like someone was taking you from the shoulders and whipping you back and forth,” said Lombard, “It lasted about three minutes long. We grabbed as many students as we could and huddled over them, and hoped it would end soon.”

After the earthquake ended, Lombard began her long journey back home. She grabbed what was left from her damaged Japan apartment- a backpack, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and her passport.

“The damage was indescribable. Buildings were collapsed, the road was completely split, water was rising from the ground, and cars were upside down in stores,” said Lombard, “My apartment was still standing but everything that could be broken was broken. My refrigerator was on its side in the bathroom.”

After leaving her apartment, she began making her way to the airport with about 14 other teachers. They piled into a minivan to get to the next town and were told to evacuate, then they took another friend’s car to another town until they made it to the train, which made multiple stops during aftershocks.

“We lived off of rice and fruit for the week, and we were running out of water,” she said.

After nine days of what Lombard calls the ‘longest week of her life’, she returned home safely to her family and friends. A week later, she still hasn’t forgotten the devastation in Japan and holds a special place in her heart for the people. She has begun fundraising efforts to try to help those she left behind and has shared her story with others.

“It was awful.” When asked by hosts Paul Castronovo and “Young” Ron Brewer if she felt guilty that she survived when many others didn’t, Lombard said that she did.

“Here I am back in America in my own warm bed. I feel like I deserted them while they are struggling,” she said on the show.

“I want to raise as much money as possible. I can’t be there and help so I will try to do my best here,” said Lombard, “The world needs to come together for a crisis like this. The more awareness and the more relief the better.”

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OUR TOWN NEWS is the local area's most popular weekly community news magazine with a history of over fifteen years of serving South Florida readers and businesses. The magazine is distributed via U.S. Mail to over 50,000 homes and businesses each month.