THE HORROR OF THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE

As you would all know, Japan has just been hit by the worst earthquake in its history since records have been kept. In Japan they are saying it was 8.8 magnitude, but we have read outside reports that it was 8.9. What perhaps did not get reported in Australia was that there were a number of quakes, 6 that I know of, ranging in magnitude from 5.8 through to 8.8. That’s why there have been second and third waves with the tsunamis.
I was just leaving the pool after a workout and saw the tsunami warning appearing on the TV screen in the foyer. We had a small quake a bit over a week ago in the same area but the resulting tsunami was less than 60cm. However I was due to meet Mami at the supermarket and the map on the TV looked like Miyagi so I put the foot down.
When I got to the supermarket both Mami and her sister were on their mobiles trying to contact family in Miyagi and also Mami’s mum, Yoko. They informed me of the magnitude of the quake and we hurried inside the shopping mall to watch on the big public screens they have here.
The force of the tsunami was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. The large area affected, not just by the tsunami but also by the quake, was enormous. In Sendai, the biggest city in Miyagi (population around 1,000,000) we have just heard there have been 200-300 bodies already found floating in the water. It is snowing quite heavily while all this is happening in Miyagi so that just adds to the problem. The Sendai airport has been hit by the tsunami but luckily all planes took off immediately the warning went out and all incoming flights were diverted.
We eventually got through to Yoko’s family when we got home, and they are all safe and well. They are perhaps far enough inland to be safe from the tsunami but the quake has done some damage to property.
The force of the quake in Tokyo was so strong it actually shook the Tokyo tower so much the aerial at the top of the tower was bent. The quake has started fires in Tokyo in buildings and in an oil refinery and a steel works. I am sure the number of people who have perished will be absolutely horrendous.
We are watching the continuous news at the moment (11.20pm) and have just heard some good news. Some 600 students and staff from a primary school in Sendai have been saved by going onto the roof of the school without loss of life. Let’s hope there are more of those types of stories to come.
One potentially worrying factor is a nuclear power plant located on the coastal town of Fukushima, south of Sendai may have sustained some damage. Reports have not been clear as to whether there has been damage but the reactor is only a couple of hundred metres from the shore.
As I write we have just seen footage of amateur film showing cars travelling along a beachside road, their vision obviously blocked by the seawall. The first wave hits, the impact sending the wave 20-30 metres into the air before obliterating the wall. Thankfully the person taking the footage was using a telephoto lens and at that point he/she must have cut and run, but the people in the cars had no hope. Now we are seeing footage that reminds me of the Victorian bushfires. The residential area of Sendai is on fire, it is an inferno. I don’t know how Japan can recover from something as massive as this. It is just terrifying and devastatingly sad.
Trains have only just started running again and the traffic has been horrendous with many people in Tokyo forced to remain in the CBD as they cannot get home. This must be terrifying as there have been over 50 shocks ranging from 2-5 in magnitude and still going since the big one hit around 2.45 this afternoon.
It will be a long time before the full impact of this earthquake is known and even longer for the people of Japan to recover from its devastation.