William hears harrowing stories of tsunami survivors

The Duke of Cambridge has heard the harrowing stories of Japanese tsunami survivors during a visit to communities devastated by the disaster.

William toured a coastal area that saw thousands killed and tens of thousands made homeless when the huge wage struck in 2011 after being triggered by an earthquake.

In the city of Ishinomaki he met Hiroyuki Takeuchi, the now-retired former chief reporter at the Ishinomaki daily newspaper which produced handwritten editions when the disaster struck.

The Duke was shown a muddy mark 8ft up an outside wall of a museum which showed how high the tsunami had reached in this part of the city.

Next he went upstairs to meet Shinichi and Ryoko Endo, who lost their three children, Hana, Kana and Kanta, all of them under 12. Mr Endo, a carpenter, has been closely involved in the work of reconstruction. They gave William a wooden charm against fire made out of tsunami rubble, including oak, as the national tree of Britain.