As the best candidate, I was appointed to collect and
evaluate information for a database about diverse natural disasters,
such as hurricanes, typhoons or thunderstorms.
Sometimes I did this by giving out questionnaires to those who went through them.
But sometimes I had to go through actual disasters myself.
The Makushin Volcano was one of them.
At that time, I lived in a bungalow alongside the volcano with a novelist,
who came for the appreciation of its eruption.
One day, when I was drawing diagrams on the balcony and he was bathing inside,
the volcano erupted unexpectedly. The ash and
lava fountains shooting highly in the sky varied from 50 to 100 meters in height.
It was absolutely fantastic!
I even noticed a rainbow appear in the fog caused by a heat wave.
But, glancing through our surroundings,
I foresaw the potential danger and found no guarantee of our safety.
The uncomfortable gas almost made us unconscious.
Sweats of anxiety began to drop.
Managing to stop panicking and trembling,
we quickly put on our protective suits, helmets and
boots and eventually made our way to a safe place.
How lucky we were even though my precious equipment and
documents were all burnt to the ground!