Japan 2011

11 March 2011- Japan is hit with a devastating Tsunami

     Photo from Extreme Planet

(At the time of this entry, we are living on Coronado Island, CA - just outside San Diego)

 

...that devastated parts of the country (there is footage of cars and boats floating together, houses being engulfed by water, etc.). Just tragic. Hundreds of people are dead. Because of this quake, a tsunami warning was issued to the entire Pacific Coast, from Canada down to Baja, Mexico! The weird thing is, on our way home from church last Sunday, we noticed a sign that read "Tsunami Danger Area". We had never seen it before. Then, last Monday night we happened upon a "tsunami" program on TV that showed all the details about how they are created and the damage they can do.

     So, after sending Shawn and the girls off to school, Shawn calls me and says, "there's a tsunami waring today!" I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. They said it was only an "advisory" at this point and not likely to have a big effect on San Diego, but just be prepared. So, I gathered up all the journals in the house, all the photo albums and baby books, cameras, our laptops and external hard-drives, check books and cash. Basically anything irreplaceable. I even grabbed everyone's scripture bags. I loaded everything all in the car and was glued to the TV. I sent Soren, my 8 year old, to school earlier, without much thought. Then my neighbor, who's husband is on a huge Naval ship (The Ronald Reagan) heading to Japan to help, had called her and told her to "get to higher ground!" She didn't send her kids to school. I waited, but when the first waves hit Northern California and  were doing damage to some docs and boats (with a surge of water all the way from Japan) I went and picked up Soren from school. "Better safe than sorry!" I thought. I needed to run some errands and the thought of being off the island and having a tsunami hit and be unable to get my daughter made me nervous. I figured Shawn, Sage and Jordan were all basically together at CHS and CMS...so, I got her.

     The Japanese tsunami ended up not having any effect on our shorelines. It was a Friday, Soren was delighted to get out early. She already turned in her homework and took her test so... 

     The video coverage of the tsunami because of cell phones was horrific. Soooo many people with video and on the news playing the footage constantly. Images of huge water surges taking boats, cars, houses, trees, etc. and pushing them into the countryside...black walls of water and debris. Just shocking! Estimated 10 thousand dead...radiation leaking from a power plant...aftershocks of 6.0 still shaking. Just horrible! Devastating!

     I do feel very vulnerable where I live with the ocean on one side of me and the bay just behind me, living on a "strand" of land! We had another tsunami "scare" with the big earthquake in Chile last year that threatened us while we were in Hawaii. We had to stay in our hotel room on the third floor and wait out the tsunami warning and missed our flight to Maui. They wouldn't let us out on the beach, all the stores in Waikiki were closed, including restaurants. Nothing happened, but it was as if time was standing still just waiting. It was kinda spooky to see Waikiki Beach and the all the usually super busy shops look like a ghost town! Then, there was a big quake in Christchurch, New Zealand, now Japan. They say the "4th corner" of the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific is California...their prediction...WE'RE NEXT!!!