japan:"OMG! 8.9 EARTHQUAKE"!!!

...2nd email from my friend, Stella, who went to japan with her husband for her son's graduation...sent 11 march 2011 at 3:04am

"OMG!   8.9 EARTHQUAKE!!!"

"never in my life have i felt something like that.  being from california we think we know earthquakes, heck i even had my nose broken back when the whitter/narrows quake hit in 87' but that was nothing like this! plus that's another story, first let me tell you this one...

daniel and i were walking to meet my son gene. we were going to his graduation when it hit. we were right by a glass building that houses a WWII air museum with life size planes in it.  at first the shaking started under my feet as if a large truck had rumbled by but then it just went CRAZY!!! the whole building next to us started shaking, daniel grabbed me and we started running. more like stumbling cuz the ground just wouldn't stop!! we could see the glass bending as it shook violently and the planes inside we moving, rolling on their wheels as if they were taxing!  it just kept shaking and shaking. then BAMM, the glass walls were braking.  falling glass everywhere, while people were screaming and running out of the building. it was like a damn movie, but we were in it!!  movie, damn i should be recording this...where's my phone?  daniel screaming at me, "run stella run!" f^&k, no time to record this, have to stay focus and stay clear of all this glass falling and not fall myself cuz it's STILL SHAKING!! 

it finally stopped after about 2 mins, which let me tell you is a long time for an earthquake!  no one seemed to be hurt around us, nor we.  the police were out asap evacuating everyone from these big tall building.  people were coming out with blankets and hard hats on.  we guess it's part of their earthquake survival kit to have them. sirens are blasting everywhere now.  loud speakers with instruction are being said but of course in Japanese!  i try calling my son gene on a pay phone but phones are down.  no electricity.  so we start walking.  by now we can see fires in the distance and lots of black smoke.  tons of people in the streets just standing in front of their buildings.  we seem to be the only ones moving.  back in that damn movie i am.  then they come...AFTERSHOCKS! 

the ground starts shaking again.  we are next to a huge 30ft arch that is shaking like crazy.  daniel is pulling me away from there but this time i have my phone ready and i'm recording it!  he's screaming at me "the arc is gonna fall, move!"  i move but keep recording.  shaking stops.  daniel

wants to stay put but i NEED to get to gene or at least know he's safe.  we were gonna meet at a designated spot and that's where i want to go.  that's where i'm going and i'm dragging daniel with me.  he's really freaked out.  me, i'm too focused on finding gene to be scared, i'll be scared later after i know he's ok.  bing, an email just came thru. did i tell you our phones are not working? not just because of the earthquake but we have 3G network iphone and here in japan they have 4G network, so no phones or email with or without earthquakes. the bing came from the ipad my son had lent us days before.  his ipad, because ours doesn't work here either!  it's an email from gene, that he's stuck in the subway train but he's okay!  they have opened the subway doors and are walking out of the tunnels.  he's heading back home and we should go back to our hotel.  whew! he's okay.  wait walking thru tunnels?!  OMG now i'm freaking out. 

so daniel and i start walking to our hotel.  i'm recording as we walk, the mayhem.  most people are ok.  just look scared, dazed.  after about 30 mins of walking and at least 10 f'ning aftershocks, we make it back to our hotel.  everyone is down in the lobby and they have a big screen tv on, powered by a putt putt because the hotel has no electricity.  we now see the images of the tsunami!  OMG, IT'S BAD.  i hadn't even thought about a tsunami! i was just focused on the damn earthquake.  

our hotel is 17 floors and of course we are on the 15th floor!  at first, i wanted to climb up to our room to get my headphones so that i could call gene using skype on the ipad, so we started climbing stairs.  i told daniel i would go on my own but he wouldn't let me.  as we are climbing, we notice more and more cracks and mortar that has fallen in the stairwells off the building.  the higher we go, the worse it is.  so on floor 5, we decide to go back down.  

bing, another email from gene.  he's outside of tunnel and walking thru rail tracks and heading home.  ok, i feel better now.  now if only the damn aftershocks would stop...before the day is over we will have over 50 aftershocks, 30 over 6.0!

by night fall our hotel is up and running and they are feeding us beautiful meals.  all complementary.  we get to our room and i am exhausted!  i go to bed while daniel stands guard. the shaking never stops!  as i write this at 6:30am the next morning, it's still shaking.  daniel is sleeping now, so i'll stand guard.

oh and by the way, gene's graduation was canceled.  his school was among the damaged".
 

stella