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Mayu 12:35 earthquake!! Mayu 12:35 wow Mayu 12:35 oh no Jim 12:35 what? Mayu 12:35 it's big Mayu 12:35 big Mayu 12:35 bug Mayu 12:35 oh my god Mayu 12:35 i'm scared Jim 12:35 is it still going? Mayu 12:35 baby Mayu 12:35 baby Mayu 12:35 oh no Mayu 12:35 it's crazy Jim 12:35 baby call me now Mayu 12:35 baby i'm scatredThat part of the chat took place in like 20 seconds. She was on the 18th floor of a shaking building in Tokyo, on the other side of the ocean, and there was nothing I could do. Then there was no response for a bit, but she was still connected, so I figured that was good. But I was uneasy. Then she came back and said she had tried the elevators. I told her to stay where she was, and not to get in an elevator. She didn't know where the stairs were, but it's not good to go outside anyway. She's in a modern building, on the 18th floor, and it was swaying big time. But I think they're built for this kind of thing. Her building is only 2 years old. It finally stopped shaking, and she calmed down a bit.
How crazy is it that this is happening the night before I fly out, and my parents fly out, to Tokyo?
Looking around online revealed it had a magnitude of 6.1, located near the coast of Honshu, Japan, and occurred on Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 07:34:58 UTC. Here are the seismographs for the earthquake: up/down, north/south, east/west. Here are some images showing how close it was to Tokyo:
I think the worst feeling in the world is when your loved ones are on the other side of the globe in the midst of a potential disaster. What can you do in such a situation? Thankfully I will see her tomorrow. I swear, I'm going to bring her back home with me, and keep her close, so I can at least be there to help when things go wrong.
Okay, I have to get some sleep. I'm all packed, thank god. I leave at 9:30 a.m. in the morning for the airport. Cassy's giving me a ride. Hopefully this is the last earthquake in Tokyo for a while. Otherwise, sayonara
July 23 2005, 09:51:17 UTC 6 years ago
July 24 2005, 14:59:53 UTC 6 years ago
July 23 2005, 14:56:37 UTC 6 years ago
July 24 2005, 15:04:38 UTC 6 years ago
A government disaster prevention panel that examined disaster scenarios for Tokyo said in February the capital could suffer damages of around $1.0 trillion yen and 13,000 deaths if an earthquake of around magnitude 7.0 hits Tokyo.
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, a 8.3 magnitude tremor, killed more than 140,000 people in Tokyo and neighbouring cities.
In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 3,000.
That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995 that killed more than 6,400 people.
Taken from a CNN article. More information from Japan Times.
Anonymous
July 24 2005, 13:10:44 UTC 6 years ago
It is
scary for the first few times. I lived on a fault line in New Zealand and we had regular swaying on our 12th floor building. It was on rollers so moved quite a bit. Often we'd be on a conference call to managers around the country and they would be quiet concerned as we all went silent on our end. We took comfort that the Civil Defence Department (those that mobilise in times of flood, hurricane and earthquake) were also in based in our building. Absolutely right to tell her to stay put. Best bet if its really scary get under a solid bed, desk or doorframe. Many days we wondered how many would fit under my bosses desk, a bit like guessing the lollies in the jar.Enjoy Japan and getting together with Mayu and families.
By the way I'm in New York now, doing well just saw Mike and Cathi Pomeroy (separately) and will update all on the hookahdome list at some point.
Colleen
July 24 2005, 15:13:51 UTC 6 years ago
Re: It is
I've never been in a high rise during an earthquake. I don't know what that would feel like. I saw her building from a distance today, and it's TALL. There are two twin towers, and 18 floors is pretty high. To reinforce the "don't go in an elevator message," the above CNN article said: "...there were at least 15 reports of people being trapped inside elevators..." Not fun!Hope things are going well in New York. If you want to meet up with a really cool, fun and crazy girl, and a good friend of mine, send me an email and I'll give you her contact info. She just moved to the area from New Orleans.