**want to hear an awesome story off the internet? this guy is my HERO!
In case you still had doubts about the way natural disasters can bring out the best in people, consider the heroic actions of Hideaki Akaiwa. On March 11, Akaiwa was several miles away at work when the tsunami flooded his town ??? where his wife was ??? with up to 10 feet of water. The 43-year-old Japanese man, who met his wife of 20 years while surfing in a local bay, wasn’t about to lose her to any type of wave.
Unwilling to wait for authorities to act, Akaiwa put on a wetsuit and scuba gear, dove into the freezing, cloudy water, and headed for the site of his former home. He swam amidst dangerous debris like shattered cars, downed electrical lines and collapsed buildings. “The water felt very cold, dark and scary,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I had to swim about 200 yards to her, which was quite difficult with all the floating wreckage.”
Akaiwa located his wife in their destroyed house, saving her life. But that’s not all. Several days later, having been unable to find his mother at local shelters, he went wading back into the water and made a similar rescue, locating his mother trapped on the second floor of her flooded house. And he didn’t stop there: Akaiwa continues to search for survivors who may need help, according to the Toronto Star.
