After watching interviews of tsunami survivors it has become clear that there was very little time between the 9.0 quake and the first tsunami surge.

Most survivors say there was less than 15 minutes from the time of the quake to the tsunami impact.  An environmental activist from the United States, Brian Barnes, says where he was it was less than 7 minutes.  He says most of the people of Otsuchi, where he was, died. The city is wiped out. Barnes survived because he immediately drove to higher ground after the quake, with the tsunami showing up after he got to the top of the hill.

Most survivors say any emergency preparedness training they underwent in the past, did not prepare them for this.