A baby’s cry and an old woman’s rescue: Miracles in Japan

In the hours and days following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that levelled parts of Japan (and rattled nations worldwide), stories of hope began to emerge.

The man rescued from his floating rooftop. The Calgarian who opened his business as a shelter.

And days later, we hear about the miracles.

On March 14th, soldiers from the Japanese Defence Force made their way through the debris in Ishinomaki City, pulling bodies from the wreckage as they methodically went door-to-door.

They heard a baby cry.

Beneath shards of wood, glass and slate, a 4-month-old girl dressed in pink was soon named the country's smallest miracle.

When the tsunami hit on March 11th, a wave swept the child from her parents' arms. Both parents survived, holed up in the wreckage once known as home, assuming their daughter was dead.

How the baby didn't drown remains a mystery. In fact, the child is believed to have suffered no injuries at all.

Shortly after the child was rescued, soldiers reunited her with her overjoyed father.

The Defence Force continues their search through the mud and ruins, invigorated by the miraculous discovery:

According to Time, a civil defense official told a local news crew, "Her discovery has put a new energy into the search. We will listen, look and dig with even more diligence after this."

The following day, on the 15th, rescuers found a 70-year-old woman alive in the home that had been separated from its foundation by the wave four days earlier. She's now being treated for hypothermia in a nearby hospital.

Hope in times of disaster. May stories like these be the first of many.