This article was originally published on June 12, 2019. (CNN)The Japanese city of Kamaishi has a history of withstanding powerful tsunamis, but none have proved as devastating as the one that engulfed the town on March 11 eight years ago. Local hotel owner Akiko Iwasaki remembers that day vividly — how the wave scooped her up from behind and pulled her into its wrath. “It came suddenly and I felt no fear nor pain,” she tells CNN World Rugby. “I just wondered why I was in the water. Then I started to only think of survival.” Buildings were reduced to rubble, vehicles were swept away, and soon the whole city was unrecognizable. Friends and family members went missing, many never to be seen again. As Kamaishi came to terms with the chaos, residents gathered on the fourth floor of Horaikan, Iwasaki’s hotel. Read More “We spent a night holding each other,” she says. “It felt really secure to stay close to each other. We couldn’t stand being alone but we spent the night staying together. That gave us a bond.” Visit CNN.com/sport for more news, features and videos A resident cycles through the rubble of Kamaishi two months after the…