I iust had this reply from an old friend of mine, Kaneko its not like him to be rattled by anything.
Hi Keith,
Thanks for your concern. Fortunately we are all safe and well, though my son
is not home yet since yesterday. He called me last night to tell me that he would sleep in
some shelter near his office in Tokyo because no transportation was available for a safety
measure after the quake.
It was really a worst earthquake experience in my life. I had never felt such a
devastating and long lasting jolt in my life. When the ground started to jolt with an
earthquake sound, I was in a nearby park just 10 minutes away from my home
to study a possible sign of nesting of a Goshawk. When the tremor started, I thought that
it was just a minor quake that occurs and disappears from time to time in Japan.
A few seconds later, I started to realize that this was very much different from
what I used to experience. I saw that big trees around me started to wobble.
I could hardly keep standing straight as the rolling period of the ground got longer.
Then, I remember that Margaret was alone at home. I tried to call her using my
mobile phone, but the mobile phone line had been cut off by then due to a sudden
incerase of callers that messed up the whole mobile phone systems. I rushed home
and was released from a horrible worry when I saw her safe at home.
Even at this moment, I can feel hundreds of intermittent aftershocks.
According to TV news, more than a thousand people are dead and missing in strong
Tsunami tides that hit many coastal areas.
I shall finish here, and thank you again for your concern.
Best regards,
Kaneko