Earthquake, pt. 2
Hi friends,
Thanks for everyone who commented on the last post, and I apologize for the writing. I was pretty terrified still when I was writing that.
I am now safe at home. Yesterday morning I made my way home cautiously. I got on the second train running (I didn't want to risk the first train, just in case there WAS something wrong with the tracks, however unlikely). The train moved very, very slowly and stopped during every aftershock, but after 40 minutes, what is usually a 10 minute ride was finally over. It was crowded but not unbearable, considering how many people weren't able to make it home that night, and how many people were trying to get home to family.
The phones have, I think for the most part, finally gone back to normal down in Saitama.
The building across the street, which was an industrial building, is gone. Some of the older buildings around my station lost their fronts. There was some water problems with sewers, but not close enough to my place to have an impact on me. My gas was stopped for a while but it's back on now.
You might have heard about the nuclear power plants where there was an explosion, and a possibility of meltdown. That is very far away from me. In any case, they predict that in a worst case scenario, the radiation in that area will still only be about 1800 micro sieverts, or about the equivalent to having 3 stomach x-rays. (I had more than that back in November, a whopping 5 chest x-rays when I had to be in the hospital.) This is reassuring. Please don't believe any news that's reported saying this will be another Chernobyl.
There is, though, a power shortage. There will be planned power outages, perhaps for the next month, 3 hours at a time. I am not sure exactly when this will start, but more information is coming soon. An announcement came over our emergency alert system about that.
My friends Chihiro and Pei in Iwate, and Kei's friend Kicchan in Sendai are all safe and accounted for. I don't know anyone else up that way, but so many people are still missing and probably not coming back.
Still, I have to feel grateful for all of the people who are now working together, not just from Japan but from around the world, to help relief efforts. An hour or so ago, I saw a fire truck go past that had a sign saying it was "emergency relief." I believe it was headed up north.
tl;dr version: I am safe, I am home, and I am thinking good thoughts for all those up north who are currently going through hell.
Edit: There has been news since this evening that from tomorrow there will be scheduled three-hour power outages twice a day. I am not exactly sure which group I am in (my town and the part of town where I live are named in two different groups) so we will see. There is also talk about stopping water for some hours a day. When I went to the grocery there was literally nothing there. Keita biked farther away and got some canned goods and instant food at a different place, but everywhere has no bottled water or tea left. So far I washed all my empty PET bottles and have filled them with water. I hope I will come out from all this as a better person.
Thanks for everyone who commented on the last post, and I apologize for the writing. I was pretty terrified still when I was writing that.
I am now safe at home. Yesterday morning I made my way home cautiously. I got on the second train running (I didn't want to risk the first train, just in case there WAS something wrong with the tracks, however unlikely). The train moved very, very slowly and stopped during every aftershock, but after 40 minutes, what is usually a 10 minute ride was finally over. It was crowded but not unbearable, considering how many people weren't able to make it home that night, and how many people were trying to get home to family.
The phones have, I think for the most part, finally gone back to normal down in Saitama.
The building across the street, which was an industrial building, is gone. Some of the older buildings around my station lost their fronts. There was some water problems with sewers, but not close enough to my place to have an impact on me. My gas was stopped for a while but it's back on now.
You might have heard about the nuclear power plants where there was an explosion, and a possibility of meltdown. That is very far away from me. In any case, they predict that in a worst case scenario, the radiation in that area will still only be about 1800 micro sieverts, or about the equivalent to having 3 stomach x-rays. (I had more than that back in November, a whopping 5 chest x-rays when I had to be in the hospital.) This is reassuring. Please don't believe any news that's reported saying this will be another Chernobyl.
There is, though, a power shortage. There will be planned power outages, perhaps for the next month, 3 hours at a time. I am not sure exactly when this will start, but more information is coming soon. An announcement came over our emergency alert system about that.
My friends Chihiro and Pei in Iwate, and Kei's friend Kicchan in Sendai are all safe and accounted for. I don't know anyone else up that way, but so many people are still missing and probably not coming back.
Still, I have to feel grateful for all of the people who are now working together, not just from Japan but from around the world, to help relief efforts. An hour or so ago, I saw a fire truck go past that had a sign saying it was "emergency relief." I believe it was headed up north.
tl;dr version: I am safe, I am home, and I am thinking good thoughts for all those up north who are currently going through hell.
Edit: There has been news since this evening that from tomorrow there will be scheduled three-hour power outages twice a day. I am not exactly sure which group I am in (my town and the part of town where I live are named in two different groups) so we will see. There is also talk about stopping water for some hours a day. When I went to the grocery there was literally nothing there. Keita biked farther away and got some canned goods and instant food at a different place, but everywhere has no bottled water or tea left. So far I washed all my empty PET bottles and have filled them with water. I hope I will come out from all this as a better person.