49. Hiroshima Waterworks Department Staff Monument
The day Hiroshima was wiped out
Water spouted out of broken pipes.
You, despite your injuries, worked hard
And people quenched their thirst at their last moment --
Explanation
The inscription on the monument (0.6 km from the hypocenter) reads as follows:
In 1945, the Hiroshima Waterworks Department Building, which was located along the streetcar line in Moto-machi, was totally destroyed by the A-bomb. The wooden office building, factory and warehouse were burned down, and the steel frames of its ferro-concrete forge were warped like melted candy and collapsed.
All the employees at work in the building were killed in the bombing, as the building was so close to the hypocenter. None of the employees knew the facts of the A-bombing on the morning of August 6. Eighty-three out of the 186 employees (including draftees) died.
Location : Hiroshima Waterworks Bureau, Moto-machi, Naka-ku