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Original poster

Anyone in Japan? Tsunami alert - any more news ? PLEASE

518 replies

RatherBeOnThePiste · 11/03/2011 06:50

DH who gets these things has had a tsunami alert for Japan. Does anyone have any more info? Itsjust breaking news about the massive earthquake at the moment.

OP posts:
PlasticFlamingo · 14/03/2011 04:42

Hi Penny, Tanterose and Sakura,

I am in Chigasaki, no petrol, shops empty, roads jammed and total chaos.

We didn't have the power outage this morning but may get the scheduled one later.

I kept my kids home, daughter freaked last night at the warning around midnight, her screams woke up the rest of the family instead of the siren.

How are you coping, sleeping and eating is tricky I am finding and swaying between keep calm and carry on and weeping mess.

My friend has been looking at the geiger counters on amazon, bit pricey!!

You are not alone.

Pennybubbly · 14/03/2011 04:46

Thanks PlasticF.
You stay safe too.

Pennybubbly · 14/03/2011 04:49

We are on a main road. It varies between completely jammed and eerily empty.
Petrol stations are either empty - no fuel, or have queues a kilometre long outside.
No bread or rice on the shelves.
Am the same as you - calm one minute or screeching at the kids out of hysteria the next as panic hits again.

TanteRose · 14/03/2011 04:55

Sad I haven't told my DCs about the predicted M7 aftershock, as they would be terrified..

I bought the last bag of flour at the supermarket near where I work..its crazy! The bakeries are all empty so I am going to make my own bread (we have a machine that hasn't been used for about a year..).

Not sure how much I will be able to make with one bag of flour...Hmm

However, I don't think we need to panic. I am fairly calm...I have been here 20 years so was here when the Kobe earthquake struck, and in some ways, I just think, well, what will happen, will happen Confused

good to know that there are a few of us over here - when this is all over, we should organise an MN meet-up Grin

Pennybubbly · 14/03/2011 05:40

Am with you on that one!
I arrived in Japan (initially Osaka) 5 months after the Kobe one. Even in Osaka, there was still lots of mess 5 months on and students used to break down in front of me when they remembered what had happened, lost loved ones etc.
Having children and being here though puts it into a whole different perspective. Am barely worried for my own safety - my first thoughts were God please let my kids be OK.
Unfortunately, I work the other side of Tokyo, so my commute (normally a 20 minute train ride) took 4 hours (bus half way, then walked the rest).Of course, my mobile wasnt working so I couldnt contact their hoikuen or my husband to see if he was OK. (He had gone to pick them up then went to dinner, assuming I wouldnt be able to get home that night). I have never been so glad to see my kids as I was that night. I burst into tears the minute they walked through the door. Sorry for the disjointed post - thoughts all over the place at the moment. Every tiny shake of the apartment and Im convinced it`s another quake.

thumbwitch · 14/03/2011 06:14

Oh Pennybubbly - your post brought tears to my eyes. I can't imagine how horrendous things are for you all there at the moment but you all are in my thoughts daily. Praying for you that your predicted aftershock doesn't create any more chaos than you're already suffering.

PlasticFlamingo · 14/03/2011 06:55

Oh no, definitely haven't told them about the predicted aftershocks. Our oldest is 9 and she knows we are still preparing for more earthquakes just from watching us.

MN meet up, I like your style!

I find it surreal, we are adding bits to the "oh fuck" rucksacks and debating whether to put camping gear in the car and at the same time we are finding receipts for the end of year tax returns and making decisions about wall colours building a house. I don't know if I am coming or going! Literally.

Strong off shore winds predicted for the next 72 hours. At least that is good news.

Stay safe everyone.

MmeLindt · 14/03/2011 08:04

Good to see that the MNetters in Japan are ok. Your posts brought tears to my eyes too. It is unimaginable for us, but reading first hand reports does make it more real than merely reading the news websites.

Stay safe, everyone.

BeenBeta · 14/03/2011 08:18

Thinking of everyone in Japan here too. Glad to hear everyone is safe but life sounds very hard already.

I just have the feeling that the affected region will have to be evacuated. Things like sewers and water treatment plants must be destroyed. There is little food, fuel or electric and the public health implications are huge once the summer weather kicks in.

On top of that, I see the second reactor blew up at Fukushima and another is heating up. There are couple more reactors in troubLe too and this predicted 3 days ago on blogs so I get the feeLing the Japanese Govt are way behind the curve.

We have some Japanese friends who live in Sydney but their families are back in Tokyo. The impact of this on families and especially children will last for decades if not life times. The woman in the couple we know comes from quite a poor family because here Grandparents lost everything in the 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Her husband's family is wealthy because they lived outside Tokyo. A single earthquake in the early part of the 20th century defined the lives of so many people and that will likely happen again too.

campocaro · 14/03/2011 09:28

Echo Mme Lindt's post. Thinking of you all in Japan and hoping that you and your children find the internal resilience and external resources and help to weather this terrible storm.

PlasticFlamingo · 14/03/2011 09:32

My Great Grandfather was in Tokyo during the 1923 Kanto earthquake. We seem to be making a family tradition of it.Smile

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 14/03/2011 09:40

thinking of you all.

db was incredibly laconic about it all when I spoke to him yesterday; I suppose it is partly because where he lives in Saitama prefecture the ground is rockier than Tokyo which damped some of the shaking, but mainly because he is on his own as he has no children and DSIL is in Paris; it must be far easier to take a 'what will be will be' attitude in his position. I can't imagine how stressful it must be for people with kids.

Ben10isthespawnofthedevil · 14/03/2011 09:44

Thinking of you all in Japan. All of my Japanese relatives now live in the US or UK but am feeling the strangest link to Japan right now. Keep safe x

Threelittleducks · 14/03/2011 09:55

Keep safe everyone. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like.
Stay strong xxx

Thingumy · 14/03/2011 09:56

0929: Japan Times reporter Kazuaki Nagata tweets: "TEPCO's PR person has just told me that they are very sorry but they won't make lists of blackout areas in English... TEPCO said they were considering to make it, but too many areas that are subject to change, and it's hard to keep update in two languages."

Let us know if there is any information that you need.

All my thoughts are with you and Japan

IngridBergmann · 14/03/2011 10:27

Another voice here, saying that we are all thinking of you.
The urge to DO something is immense, there is a thread about donating towards the relief effort in case anyone is interested - but I think another will be starting properly in Site Stuff.

mummylin2495 · 14/03/2011 11:27

My thoughts are with all of you caught up in this catastrophic disaster.I cannot imagine the horror for you all.I am constantly watching the news and i have to say that its almost unreal to see.I hope that all of your families stay safe.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 14/03/2011 11:55

Woke up in the middle of the night thinking of you all. Know that you have a lot of support here.

mamalovesmojitos · 14/03/2011 11:58

To all mnetters in Japan my thoughts are with you too. We are all watching and waiting, following internet reports, television, newspapers...The whole world is watching and hoping and praying for you.

Hope you are all ok, and echoing other posters, if there's anything we can do or tell you, please ask. xx.

sakura · 14/03/2011 12:17

Hi Pennybubbly Smile, Your post was heart-wrenching. Why don't you move to Shikoku or are the logistics of moving just too overwhelming to contemplate?

Not sure how much I will be able to make with one bag of flour...Hmm
I cracked a smile, thanks Tanterose.

I feel like a bit of an imposter amongst you three TanteRose, PlasticFlamingo, Pennybubbly because aside from shitting myself about the nuclear power plants I haven't had to deal with anything close to what you're all dealing with. The only sign that somethings up here in southern Kyushu is that there was no bottled water on the supermarket shelves today. SO either people here are panic buying or (more likely) any available bottled water is being sent straight up North.

I asked DH if we could house a family but he said the government will build makeshift temporary houses on a huge piece of land for everyone. It makes sense I suppose because you get to keep your privacy that way. It must be a cultural thing.

MmeLindt · 14/03/2011 12:22

Info here about the nuclear plant

sakura · 14/03/2011 12:36

that was really good Mme Lindt. He was really clever (and most importantly, funny)

I feel better after reading that. It's the bloody media hyping it all up.

"Now, just packing a lot of fuel rods next to each other would quickly lead to overheating and after about 45 minutes to a melting of the fuel rods. It is worth mentioning at this point that the nuclear fuel in a reactor can never cause a nuclear explosion the type of a nuclear bomb. Building a nuclear bomb is actually quite difficult (ask Iran). " GrinIn Chernobyl, the explosion was caused by excessive pressure buildup, hydrogen explosion and rupture of all containments, propelling molten core material into the environment (a ?dirty bomb?). Why that did not and will not happen in Japan, further below.

BeenBeta · 14/03/2011 12:37

sakura and anyone else worried about the nuclear plants if you haven't already I do urge you to read the link by MMeLindt. It is a very good explanation of all the multiple lines of defence that the nuclear plants have when something goes wrong.

What I do not understand though is why on earth the air intakes for the diesel generators were not put at a higher level so they didnt suck in water. Tsunami are well known in Japan and it seems such an obvious risk to a plant on the coast.

I see the third nuclear reactor at Fukushima is now heating up but even if a meltdown occurs at least it will be contained as the other two have. Hence a Three Mile Island Scenario has always been the most likely outcome and not a Chernobyl.

MmeLindt · 14/03/2011 12:41

This is a nice idea here

Thinking of a way to do this.

TanteRose · 14/03/2011 12:57

thanks for the link MmeLindt - that explanation has been reassuring people on quite a few talkboards/FB over here Smile

and the origami is very cute - unfortunately I am unbelievably crap at origami, much to my children's embarrassment Blush

BeenBeta - yes, the Three Mile Island scenario is more likely, but still scary as all hell! thanks for all your explanations and comments..

no blackouts at all today, in the end! who knows what tomorrow will bring...(its nearly 10pm here)

sakura - you are in this just as much as anyoneGrin

it is important to support each other and that is what you have been doing! thank you Smile