Tokyo Today

Hi. Today we kept a close eye on the situation at the power plants. It seems that the situation is getting worse as time goes on. Radiation was detected at very low levels in Tokyo, but we haven't been notified about radiation on base. Rob has a briefing tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we will know more then about what the base will do in the event of radiation exposure. I felt an aftershock this afternoon at our house, but Rob swears he didn't feel it. I noticed the Japanese paper lanterns hanging in our play area swinging slightly. When I checked the USGS website it reported a 5.2 quake about 150 miles away. I think I have been feeling them, I just haven't been able to notice indicators like water moving in a glass or the curtains swaying.

I did go off base today to teach my English class. Yeah. The school is still holding classes. In fact, they had classes the night of the earthquake. I'm not really sure why. Maybe they have to for financial reasons. Maybe they just want to keep a sense of normalcy. I went because I don't really want to quit and I was curious to find out what is going on in real Japan. I did see what you have been seeing on TV. The shelves in the convenient stores are bare, there are lines for gas 1/2 mile long, and the train stations are empty, as are some of the streets. It seems that people are starting to buy everything up, which is causing more problems.

One of the base commanders addressed the base yesterday encouraging people to buy what they need and to be confident that we are NOT in danger of running out of food or gas. You may have seen on TV that Yokota is the primary base supplying all bases in our region, so we will always be the first to get the supplies we need.

Another earthquake just now- it's about 11pm- they just reported it on FOX right after we felt it. Ran upstairs to stay by the girls. Rob is home. I'm shaking. I'm going to have PTSD worrying about the girls all the time. I'll check in tomorrow...