Residents and Pets Take Refuge in School in Kesennuma, Japan

Dozens of people, along with their pets, took refuge in a school evacuation center in Kesennuma, Japan on Thursday.

The Kesennuma middle school acted as an evacuation center, and provided an area for those who managed to escape with their pets.

[Yoko Takizawa, Evacuee]:
"I was at work when the tsunami hit, and my husband was at home. So, he grabbed the dog and stuck it under his arm and just ran. All we have now is our dog.”

Mitsuko Ito was living alone and was helped by another family to travel to the school.

[Mitsuko Ito, Evacuee]:
"I don't know what's happened to my daughter or to my son, I don't know if they're alive or not."

The disaster also caught foreigners in its wake. English teacher Paul Fales from Michigan arrived six days ago and was trapped in the city.

[Paul Fales, English Teacher]:
"I just kind of want to stay here really to ride the wave out, to help people if they need help with anything really. Everyone's been so nice and they make sure like, 'Are you okay?' And everyone is being really humane.”

Power has yet to be restored to the area, and many are unable contact their families.

Hundreds of thousands of households in the north of Japan were still without electricity in near-freezing weather.