This is a picture of my cousin Clint and his wife Akemi. It's from 2002 after they arrived in Indiana.
They are now back in Japan. Yes Japan. And they are safe right now. He is in the Navy and was out to sea when the earthquake hit. She was home. She is from Japan and her family is there. She finally got an e-mail through to Gloria. You remember Gloria, from yesterday's post. Well, Gloria is Clint's Mom. We knew on Friday they were both o.k. and we were all so very happy. But Akemi's e-mail brings home a bit more what they are all going through. It's kind of long and sometimes a bit hard to understand who she is talking about, especially because we don't know the people, so I understand if you don't want to read it. Just keep them in your prayers. I posted it below.
Hello mom and dad,
I am sorry I could not tell you in detail.
and thank you for your prayers and thinking of us.
All my family. relatives are OK, they are alive.
Luckily they just got messy house which things fell down and broke some.
But finally we got contact with them last late night and this morning...
I wish this is just a bad dream, but it is not, this is the truth here.
Now we are getting know the damage is getting bigger and bigger, worst and worst.... around prefectures Hokkaido, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, even Nagano ....and more and more, in SUPER WIDE area.
I really appreciate US military is going to help us, also other many countrie's rescue team...
Pictures and video from TV news looks like bad dream in the Hollywood movie like End of the World, Many many things washed away ..... it looks like a after the war.
Still have many dangerous problem with earthquake and Nuclear power plant, it seems like it has serious problem, Japanese government is still researching and trying to fix it with their BEST. But it seems like leaking nuclear ... , the problem is they still have big earthquake with fixing it.
And some people got nuclear already, and they need to get medical treatment soon...
SUPER STRONG tsunami washed away many houses, farms, building, hospitals, shools, cityhalls, many people, cars, BIG track,BIG ships, whole town , ..... even Sendai airport was washed away with Tsunami.
It looked like washer machine with GIANT waves and STRONG TSUNAMI...
Looked very very bad, worst dream...
Tsunami hit 3rd floor of the tall buildings ...
I could not believe to see them in the news...
ALL TV CHANNEL is showing news about this for 24 hours without any CM,
It just look like after the war.
Sooooooooooooooooooooo sad and awful......
Yumiko got earthquake in her office and it was sooooooo scared she tried to protected herself under the desk, and she said she cried. Probably she felt the end of the world or she might die.... i guess.
She could not make it home since all trains stopped. She walked for three hours to go to aunt's house and she stayed over night there.
My younger niece, Natchan was at her friend's house. Another niece, Non-chan was working in her office in Osaka. At first Non-chan in Osaka sent us an e-mail and asked us "Are you OK ? " .... but okasan and I did not know anything in Sasebo, and we were driving and just got grocery store.
After shopping I turned on the cell phone tv and we realiszed it was very BAD very SERIOUS earthquake there.
Now I don't know yet when we leave here for Tokyo... this made me soooooooo upset and now I am not looking forward to go to Tokyo for now.
And still worry about my family in Tokyo and north area for their future.
TV news says probably the big earthquake will keep going to come for a month.... need to be very careful. And it is still keep going big earthquake now...
I still very worry about Yumiko and nieces, all families...
Clint sent me an e-mail and said ... we should wait here and see what's happen for a while.
Yumiko's apartment got messy with earthquake. Toaster fell down, many things fell down.... and messy. Natchan found it.
Natchan went to okasan's house to check it out. Okasan's house not much things fell down since the city took care of her house with furnitures holder and stoppers from earthquake, she got them in last September. How lucky okasan is. Otherwise many things fell down.
So we will wait and see about this problem for a while in Sasebo.
Mom and dad, thank you for worrying and thinking of us...
And please tell everyone hello and thank them to thinking of us...
Love,
Akemi
