Sunday 13th March 2011
The title of this blog post clarifies the main worries and topics of conversation today.
I finally had a fairly decent night's sleep and, in an effort to keep some normality in Rhiannon's life, Tim took her to a Titanic Exhibition here – strange choice of distraction, but it's one of her fascinations. I stayed at home as due to a knee injury I received last week, I'm finding it hard to get around and am in constant pain. Mind you, this pales into microscopic insignificance when viewing the devastation further north in this country.
We're still getting lots of aftershocks here in Tokyo, and now we're told to expect another huge earthquake at some point. Apparently there is a 70% chance of a quake of magnitude 7 or higher occurring in the next 3 days. That's not a comforting thought at all. Is it?
The member of our family most affected and traumatised by Friday's earthquake is our dog, Kita. At every unusual sound, she panics in her gentle way. With every tremor she tries to get outside. She also doesn't leave my side at all. When her "pack" is all around, she's calmer, but if even one is missing, she is very anxious indeed. And of course, unlike a human, we can't explain what's happening. Rhiannon is also fairly stressed by it all, but as she's had regular earthquake drills at school, she knows the deal. But it's affecting her sleep – in that she doesn't sleep.
So, onto the topics of the day.
The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant is causing a huge amount of concern all around. Most of my morning was spent in a long phone call with my brother who is pressing me to leave the country RIGHT NOW, or to send Rhiannon back to the UK so he can look after her. Being a scientist and a bit of an expert in nuclear stuff, he bombarded me with worse case scenarios.
He's not the only person with this point of view and I was very surprised to discover many of my friends are actually leaving Tokyo today. They're heading for various places either further south in Japan or to nearby countries such as Singapore. Some of these evacuations are personal decisions but some are forced on them by their employers or allegedly on advice from their embassies. I have no confirmation on the latter – my friends understandably have more important issues to deal with than to answer my questions on Facebook. Interestingly, the majority of people carrying on as normal are the Brits – it seems the Blitz Spirit is still alive and kicking in our generation.
The main problem with the Fukushima issue is there is so much conflicting information. It's impossible to separate media hysteria from fact. And anything to do with 'nuclear' produces a lot of opposing views which end up getting biased during the reporting process. I've done a lot of research and reading today and am none the wiser really. I guess I am going to take life one day (or hour) at a time, take on board advice and see how things evolve over the next couple of days before making any rash and complicated decisions.
In light of this potential catastrophe-in-the-making, the people of Tokyo have started panic-buying groceries and other supplies. Supermarkets have been emptied of stock and don't expect deliveries any time soon. I have not stocked up at all, so life may get interesting soon! Because of our impending move, I've been trying to "eat down" our cupboards and freezer stock. I popped over to the local conbeni earlier to get milk. Conbenis are local convenience shops that hold basic supplies, are constantly fully stocked and are open 24/7/365. But the shelves were completely empty! Well, empty of anything useful – there was plenty of sake and sweets, but no milk, bread or actual food.
Oh and another thing – Rhiannon's school is closed tomorrow, so I will have her to take care of too. They cite the reason for closure as power cuts are forecast which will make commuting and communication unpredictable. Some older children were stranded at the school on Friday as it took their parent 11 hours to drive through the horrendous traffic to reach them! In this case, perhaps it's good to keep the school closed for the time being… even if it will drive us parents insane!
I am beginning to get a bit stir-crazy as I've been housebound for a week after injuring myself. I'd really like to go out somewhere nice tomorrow, but I don't feel I can leave Kita on her own right now. Also, Rhiannon still isn't very well so I may have to make a trip to the doctors anyway, if at all possible. Many places are closed – I don't yet know if the clinic is open. I shall also have to try and find some food.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Life is so unpredictable and changeable right now that there is little point in making plans. Updates and information are changing minute by minute so it's hard to keep track of developments. We may not even make it through the night if another major earthquake strikes…
And on that cheerful note, I'll sign off now and hopefully "see" you tomorrow!
