My experience with earthquakes has lead to me perceive them as little play things. Something to giggle at as they gently rock you back and forth. I made a habit of wishing that earthquakes would strike while my friends and family were visiting Japan. I felt like it was the perfect way to give our guests the "real Japanese experience." Until 2:46pm yesterday afternoon, I craved the monthly shake. All of that has changed. I have grown to loath every earthly quiver after running for my life, fearing for the lives of my loved ones, and going through the anxiety of 50+ aftershocks in 24 hours.
At 2:10 pm, Friday March 11th I nervously entered the large conference room at AIST's central campus. I sat down next to my friend Leon and awaited my turn to present my research to roughly 50 people. In a short time I found my self passing Matt (who was also scheduled to give a presentation) on my way to the podium. For the record, I pretty much nailed it. Nobody will remember my presentation though, and with good reason.
Two questions were posed to me during the Q&A session. Before I had a chance to answer the 2nd, the shaking started. I paused briefly to wait and see if it would pass. The man who asked the question tried to lighten the mood by chuckling "Oh, we have earthquakes all the time here." To which I nonchalantly responded "Yeah, I'd never been in an earthquake before coming to Japan" Then it got real.
Video that Leon took as the shaking started to get progressively worse. At the end of the video, somebody yelled "open the door!" which is one of the first things the Japanese people are taught to do during earthquakes.
Everyone in the room waited for another couple of seconds before the straw the that broke the camels back. Following a huge jolt, someone ran out of the room. That was enough for me! I sprinted to the first set of door to find them locked. Next thing I know, I was sprinting down the stairs with the whole building swaying around me. Lights flickered as a man stumbled on the stairs next to me (he will be OK, just keep going) I sprinted out the door to the outside and held it for a couple of people, expecting Matt and Leon to come through. A quick glance backward told me that they were already out, then I backed away so that I was a safe distance from all of the buildings.
Although there was no noticeable structural damage to the buildings, indications of the sizable shaking was all around.
We were safe so our thoughts immediately shifted to our families. Reagan was in daycare and the girls (Amanda, Jill, Chelsae, and Katie) had gone shopping. We decided to go to the Ninomiya House to see if we could meet up with everyone. I can't express the relief I felt to see that everyone was safe. We all waited in the evacuation area together for a while as the after shocks continuing to hit our city.
We are all OK!
As we sat there, recounting our stories, we laughed and joked about the whole thing. At that point we had no idea how devastating the event really had been or what the next 24 hours would entail. As if an 8.9 super quake wasn't enough to deal with, aftershocks every 30 minutes, destruction from tsunamis, and nuclear power plant explosions are adding to the constant state of apprehension.
I think I will choose this point to stop. As you might imagine, I have not been able to get much rest because of the frequent shaking we have been experiencing. In fact, in the time it has taken me to write this post, there was 15 noticeable shakes. I will try to write more details about our experience tomorrow. I have no doubt that we will be fine, but please keep us and all of Japan in you prayers.
-Seth
March 12, 2011 at 12:19 PM
geez, that is just crazy. i am just so relieved to hear you are all ok. i can't wait for all of you to be back in the states, out of all the chaos. ya'll are loved dearly from my heart in austin tx.