8:30 in the Evening

March 11, 2011
It is 8:30 in the evening here.

Every time I sit down at the computer I have aftershocks to deal with. I can feel a tension in the air or in the house. It always feels like the earth is on a tight wire.

I just saw what happened in Yokohama, the road cracked opened about a foot or two. There was a department store or something next to the crack. Well, that is no good!

No one can get home. All the trains are stopped. People are milling about with no where to go. Major highways are all closed. People have been waiting for 3 or more hours for buses. The bus companies are putting on extra buses but they can't keep up.

They are reporting tsunami of 10m in some northern areas. That is more than 30 feet. With bigger tsunami to come.

Ken is going to stay the night at the office with all the rest of the staff. Takao wanted to take him home in his taxi but Ken wouldn't/couldn't go. Said he had work. He said that he would be okay with everybody else.

Some other people who I have exchanged email with were hit much harder than me. One woman I know who lives near me lost every single dish and cup and plate because they all fell out of her cabinets. I did not suffer anything like that, part luck and part Takao's preparation. We have a large dish cabinet in the living room, all glassed in with all kinds of pottery and glass stuff. Takao has had it attached to the wall with little chains at the top. Things moved around inside but nothing broke and the cabinet did not fall over. In fact, no furniture fell over.