The Shake-Up

I know I haven't blogged as much, but this is a story I feel many of you want to hear. It's one that I want to share as well.

I’ve decided to write a blog about the recent events that have taken place here in Japan that I am sure many of you are aware of. Mostly because there isn’t much I can do right now aside from studying Japanese, and I have no focus. Nevertheless, I feel like these past few days have been life changing to say the least, and I want to share with you all what I personally went through and experienced.

My story

On the eve of my students’ graduation from junior high school on March 11, 2011, an 8.8 (now upgraded to 9.0) magnitude earthquake struck Japan, with the epicenter falling very closely to Sendai. What were the odds?

The Shake-Up

My school after the earthquake

It happened at around 14:45 JST. I was on the first floor of my school talking to my students during clean-up time, when one of them began to shout ‘earthquake’ in Japanese. I started to feel the rocking, and I felt adrenaline rush through my body. Suddenly, doors began to bang back and forth and kids were screaming. The shaking increased in intensity, and I found myself being knocked to the ground. I thought, “oh fuck…” and ran out to the field outside where my students began to huddle. I know, running in an earthquake is not the business, but I needed to be in a clear area away from my 63 year old campus. The shaking lasted for what seemed like an eternity.

There were many signs that this earthquake was going to hit. Earlier in the day, I had told my JTE how my last large earthquake was the San Francisco quake of ’89, but that was when I was only two. Coming to Sendai, I had been informed that Miyagi-ken was long overdue a large earthquake, to the extent that we had part of an ALT meeting devoted to earthquake preparedness. Earlier last week, there had been (what we can now say) a few foreshocks. Who knew that the big one would arrive shortly after?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. My students were in tears, as aftershocks came one after the other. My school suffered a lot of interior damage, but it stood standing. Nature was absolutely upset that day, because right after the earthquake, Sendai received a large snow storm. In the midst of all this, we had received an urgent tsunami warning… so this was definitely a crazy, hectic and emotional day for all of us here in Sendai. I was making sure I Facebook and tweeted as much as I could, especially with the call to inform my parents I am alive. My cell phone was dying, and power was going in and out, so I turned off my phone.

The Evacuation

The ridiculous weather after the earthquake

The snow only lasted for about ten minutes, but it was enough to lay a blanket of white over Sendai. When we received the tsunami warnings (which was both from the radio and Japanese cell phones getting television broadcasts), we were in evacuation mode. My teachers and I got the students and their families up to the third and fourth floors, all in the midst of heavy aftershocks that were at least a 4.0 in magnitude. People were panicking and wondering what was going to happen. Community members began to rush into my school’s campus, and classrooms were filled with people and confusion.

I’ve never experienced a tsunami before, nor have any idea what one was like. The first thing I heard from my JTE during this time was that Sendai Airport was under water. I could not believe it. While on the fourth floor, I looked out the window and could see water slowly coming in at an alarming rate… and I got really scared. People were still rushing into the school at this time, eager to escape the water. A few minutes later, the water had completely engulfed the rice fields that were once adjacent to my school’s campus.

The tsunami covering the rice fields on the right top... it was madness.

And by some miracle- it stopped.

The tsunami waves stopped right outside my school, and I am so thankful. During the weekend, as news came in, I realized that my school was one of the five closest to the coast of Japan. Some others had the first floor of their school flooded, but fortunately mine was able to be spared. The tsunami warning was still very much on call, so hundreds of people were coming in to seek refuge, including families of my students. I realized from this weekend that myself and my teachers were now relief workers, and it was our jobs to help the community as much as possible.

We spent the next few hours experiencing aftershocks, and in the midst of it all, gathering candles, flashlights, radios, batteries, blankets, making signs, etc. The power had gone out around 17:00 in my area, and not to mention most of the rooms in my school were completely trashed. We rushed back and forth for the next few hours, waiting for the city relief aid to deliver food to us. Luckily, there was a supply of crackers and bottled water that we passed out to each person later in the evening. That night, we all sat in my principal’s office listening to the radio, trying to stay warm, and trying to figure out what we were going to do. We were responsible for these people, and they were depending on us.

Relief Efforts

Supplies being shipped in the second day

My staff and I cooking the rice

I barely slept in the cold chair I was sitting on that evening. When morning came, my teachers and I made breakfast rice and packaged it for delivery to each person. After eating breakfast, we were delivered more food, in which we sorted out and kept in a locked room to give out during later meals. Many of my students and parents came in to help serve as well... it was truly teamwork here. The day following the earthquake, we received more news and updates. The east side of my area was completely destroyed, and people from that area evacuated to my school. The tsunami had done a significant amount of damage to all of us… many of my students lost their homes, and many fear for the worst when they can’t reach their families. We still had no power.

If there is one thing that I regretted the most from this weekend, it was not knowing more Japanese. I couldn’t be of much help with my language restrictions, and many times, my JTEs couldn’t translate because we were rushing to figure out what to do. I did what I could though. I helped cut wood for the fire to cook the rice, and I directed traffic to certain floors of my school. We were patiently waiting for more news to come in, and the radio (even up to now) was always on non-stop. That evening, we made a plan to evaluate the school the following day to see what the damages were like.

My staff room was trashed

The following day (Sunday), we spent the entire day cleaning up the school to the best of our abilities. The tsunami warning had ended, and everyone was evacuated to my school gymnasium. My staff room was trashed from the earthquake, and many rooms had broken glass, cases… it was just a mess. Not to mention the large influx of people coming in caused a lot of dirt to be pushed around. Thankfully the weekend showed nice weather after such a disaster, which made it easier for us. Meals were still limited, and we still had no power, but at least we had shelter. Today was also the day that I had received word that some parts of Sendai (including my apartment) had regained power. I decided to have my JTE drive me home that night to see if it was true.

Before then, we had a nice dinner with candle light and cheesecake that my teachers had brought for everyone… one of the best bonding times with my staff. It was around this time when the cities relief workers came in and took over, leaving us with less responsibilities.

Reconnecting With My Home

When my JTE drove me home Sunday night for the first time, I started to see lights, and I was so happy. Electricity has become something I will never take for granted again. When I reached my apartment, she followed me up to see if I could even get in (since I have a digital lock). Fortunately I did, and I stepped inside to see the damage. To my relief, it was… really not that bad.

My kitchen area; I never even got to show you what it was like before the quake.

A few broken things, but for the most part my apartment survived one of the worst earthquakes in recorded history. I was so happy to see that I also had running water (and later found out, limited gas). I stayed the night at my apartment, turning on my computer and realizing… I had INTERNET! That was when I reconnected and saw the overwhelming love and support from my friends and family back home. Again, thank you so much. I spent the next six hours on Skype and Google Voice, trying to tell everyone that I was alive!

Since then, I have been going in and out of work to help support my staff and to get everything back together. The refugees are still here at school, but since last night, the power and water had returned to my school’s area. Food has become scarce, as many restaurants and grocery outlets are not open because of the earthquake. I have had to wait in many long lines just to get a box of juice from a convenience store, but you have to do what you have to do. (On a funny note- I am happy I didn’t pay my bill last Friday when the earthquake took place. I’m happy to have money right now when ATMs are closed). Not everyone has all the basic utilities, but many are making do with it until they return. I myself am very fortunate that I still have an apartment and am alive and well.

Sendai is recovering slowly. The Sendai Subway is up with limited stops and times, but the JR and Shinkansen are still closed. I hope that the busses come back soon as well. The ground continues to tremor with hundreds of aftershocks, some larger than others, but I'm hanging on.

This experience has taught me a lot of things. I knew to live life each day, but I think that hits home more than ever. People in the community, despite having lost their homes and are struggling for food, are still positive. Everyone in Japan has shown me that in times of need, we can come together and make things work. To help ease the worries of many, only the coastal parts of Sendai are severely damaged. The city is not underwater. There is also no nuclear threat, so please don’t worry about that. I am more likely to die of starvation than by radiation. (knock on wood for both)

The Western media has really blown this incident way out of proportion. Please don't believe everything you read.

If you can, please consider donating to the Red Cross Japan, or any other organization that is helping us survive these rough times.

As the ground continues to shake, I hope that life will return to normalcy, and that Sendai and Japan can move on. I know I miss it, but am looking forward to the day I can go to work, go home, relax, and rinse and repeat. Until then, I will continue to support my community, and keep you all at home informed of my safety. Feel free to send me anything from home as well.

Thanks for reading. Much love. ありがとうございました!

Andy