Massive Earthquake... attendance?

[Dessert Devour]

Hey!

I saw the announcement, and I'm reporting in to let you know what's going on in TOKYO JAPAN! I live in Tokyo and was very much so shaken by the quake. I personally was outside for the chaos and lucky didn't get hit by anything. My area of Tokyo (Northern Tokyo, Kita-ku) seems to be okay. Most of our area still has power and most stores are functioning as usual. There are still a great number of aftershocks occurring, but my area is fine.

Lower in Tokyo, namely, within the Yamanote line area, known as central Tokyo, was in chaos last night as all of the train-lines shut down after the quake, waiting for inspection and the slowing of aftershocks. This left many people stranded at their jobs and at school. Students of my University spent the night last night in the school's main building near Azabu Juban because they either could not get home do to the railway shut-down, or they were too scared to go home alone.

Many people took to walking home on foot, taking hours to get there, but all in all, it was chaos. Taxi-cab drivers made a killing in all of the insanity, driving home those that couldn't get home otherwise. Many places opened up to give out free food and drinks, and others for people to sleep as it was advised to stay where you are for safety.

Phone service was out across most of Tokyo after the quake, but now things are getting better in the city. Most of the trains are running again now, making it easier for people to get home and rest. The aftershocks are becoming less often and a lot softer. Phone service for Softbank users is back up, but still inspections for large buildings continue.

We also turn our attention to the oil refinery in Chiba that was on fire, as well as the devastated area of Sendai that was swept over by the tsunami. There is still great suffering in the country of Japan, but the world at large is doing all they can to help!

This has been an update from a Tokyoite on the Japan Earthquake!  

[xena91388]

Thank you L_J!! Our hearts are with you! heart  

[nyx the wicked]

hi much luck in everything getting better i was nearly crying at school we were watching the news of it all glad to see your pk, im in cali not to much damage was done from the sunami(or however it was spelt) so good lick to ya all in getting back on your feet  

[Dessert Devour]

Thank you for your concerns!

The current situation is getting more and more unnerving as the power plant in Fukushima is extremely unstable. One of the reactors exploded yesterday (watched it happen on the news and nearly had a heart attack with the boyfriend...) Everyone is really freaked out now even though Tokyo is for the most part fine. I am currently without running water, but I figure I will leave my home in Oji and today go visit my boyfriend in Iidabashi. I am still expected to have school tomorrow, however, with the city as tense as it is right now, I don't know what will happen.

All of the trains in the Tokyo area and south are up and running once again, which is a good thing. The people can get around again. That being said... A lot of people are panicking and buying tons of food and water, candles and I can't remember what the chemical is called, but it's what you're supposed to drink when their is radiation...

Walking down the streets of Tokyo, the city is eerily silent as everyone silently watches the news to see what is going to happen.

This has been an update from Tokyo Japan.  

[Dessert Devour]

New Update from Japan

At current, I would like to correct information above. After the explosion at the power plant in Fukushima, it was determined that only the outer casing of the the structure was destroyed and that the reactor itself is still okay. However, that being said, a partial meltdown is being assumed, the Japanese government is telling the people to remain calm and that there has been no leak of radiation into the atmosphere. The only person reported to have had contact with higher the normal levels of radioactivity would be on of the nuclear plant workers.

In other news, there has been volcanic motion in the islands (not Fujisan thank god!). I haven't looked into this that much as it doesn't seem to be as much of a focus in the news right now.

Right now the major news is two different things. One, the rolling black-outs that are expected to last for a month... And Two, the potential quake to hit Honshu (main island of Japan) once more in the following week.

We'll start with the rolling black-outs. With the power shortages in this country, regions of Japan have been broken into five groups that will go on black-out rotation. In short, each group will not have power for 3 hours of their day. The only areas unaffected by this are central regions of Tokyo, such as Minato-ku. I believe my district is also safe from this, but my knowledge of Japan's geography could use a little work to know what sub-group my area would be in. Other areas in my Ward, however, will be experiencing a rolling black out from 12:20 till 16:00 Tokyo time. These rolling black-outs are expected to continue for through to next month.

As for the potential quake. Experts are releasing information about the expected quake to hit Honshu at an intensity of 7.0M to 7.9M. (For reference, the initial quake over here was originally measured at a 7.9, then was upgraded to a 8.8, finally ended up at a 9.0M quake... The first aftershock that hit just half an hour later was a 7.6M quake.) My school is shut down for now as the government is advising all who can stay home, do so. This being said, a lot of the Japanese people are paranoid and are fleeing to the west, to another island of Japan, or to Osaka. I am currently planning on staying in Tokyo, however, if I am ordered to evacuate, I will be offline, more than likely, for a while.

This has been and update from Tokyo Japan.  

[xena91388]

Yeah, we heard about the powerplant. The words "Nuclear Radiation" has the world so panicked, it seems everyone thinks that half the world will be wiped out instantly if the reactors meltdown. (Maybe an increase in cancer and birth-defects for those of us outside of Japan, but nothing so drastic.) So the major news stations have been covering the reactors almost exclusively. We hardly hear anything about how the people are doing and the earthquake itself is pretty much almost forgotten.

Any news on the geological status? I've heard that the US Geological Survey is reporting that your entire country has shifted about 8 meters and there is a fissure 150 long and 50 miles wide.  

[Dessert Devour]

xena91388

Any news on the geological status? I've heard that the US Geological Survey is reporting that your entire country has shifted about 8 meters and there is a fissure 150 long and 50 miles wide.

Geologically speaking, the country is still also in panic. We haven't forgotten about the crust chaos going on over here. It is true that the main island of Honshu has shifted over at least 3 meters (that's minimum) and there is still great fear for continuing streams of hard after shocks. I have not heard much about the fissure since I'm in Tokyo which is about 188 miles away from the epicenter of the quake. From Tokyo, the experience was a lot less felt then those in the Tohoku and Sendai areas in general.

Also, about the nuclear melt-down... If it does occur, it is expected that at large the mainly effected area would be 20km surrounding the plant.