The great Japan earthquake of 3-11-2011

I was home, half-asleep when an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the Richter’s scale, hit northeast Japan at 2:46 Japan time, today, March 11, 2011.

The television was on, at Al Jazeera, when the quake occurred. I quickly switched to NHK World, which quickly put up a ‘breaking news’ update of the earthquake.

Shortly thereafter, the Japanese television network broadcast from a helicopter film crew live footages of the 10-meter high tsunami that hit the coastal areas of the Tohoku region, particularly Miyagi prefecture, the ‘bull’s eye’ of the earthquake. Several aftershocks were reported, one reaching the 7 magnitude in the Japanese scale.

Coming in living color, I saw the large swath of destruction that the tsunami wrought on that part of Japan. Floods of ocean water rampaged across Miyagi, inundating the city and sweeping along its raging path houses, boats, ships, cars, buses, trucks, factory buildings, crates, and debris as if these were toys. I saw cars racing to higher ground. Forty-four fires broke out all over Japan after the earthquake, the largest having been the blaze at an oil refinery at Ishihara in Chiba City near Tokyo, which, as I write this, remain raging.

Sendai Airport in the Miyagi prefecture, which is two kilometers away from the coast, was flooded. Haneda Airport in Central Tokyo was briefly closed, but was opened shortly after to accommodate incoming flights. Outbound flights, however, were temporary off. Narita International Airport remained closed.

So heavy and severe was the damage of the earthquake that transportation in Tokyo, a hundred kilometers south of Miyagi, ground to a halt. Electricity was cut off and telephone lines and mobile phones went dead. This is the worst earthquake I have ever known in my 48 earth-years.

Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan quickly briefed the media about the earthquake. He called for cooperation and instructed Japan foreign ministry officials to prepare to accept international assistance to his country. He said he had established a task force, with him as head, to respond to the aftermath of the earthquake, and asked his countrymen to exercise caution, to remain calm and vigilant, and to cooperate to minimize the damage.

The Diet, Japan’s parliament, suspended its session, and the opposition pledged cooperation to the national rehabilitation effort.

The Japan Meteorological Agency’s Hirofumi Yokoyama quickly briefed the media about the earthquake. The Agency had issued a major tsunami advisory to several northern and southern regions of Japan, including Hokkaido, Fukushima, Tokushima, Honshu Bay, Miyazaki, Tokara, Okinawa, Miyaki, and the Aleutian Islands. Yokoyama warned people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground, to exercise caution against landslides and mudslides. He said aftershocks may cause buildings to collapse.

Immediately, the Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued a tsunami advisory for Taiwan, Japan, Russia, and Hawaii. After only a few minutes, the advisory expanded to include New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Chile, and Peru in South America.

Nature, once again, has its last word. As I write this, footages of the earthquake’s shaking of Japan, the tsunami’s rampage, and the damages that were their aftermath continue to pour on my television screen.

I am breathless in disbelief and very sad for the people of Japan. Let’s pray this doesn’t strike the Philippines.