News from Japan...

A friend of ours lives in Tokyo, Japan. John and his wife Sonny thankfully escaped the worst of the earthquake and tsunami that ripped through the country last week. I spoke with him during the week and wrote a piece for the Derry Journal. Here it is...

Derry man John Gormley has become accustomed to little earthquakes that gently rock Tokyo on a weekly basis. In fact a small shake rattles the contents of his desk as he speaks with me.
He has lived and worked in Japan for seven years now. He married a Japanese girl and they will welcome a new baby in the summer. As he describes the contents of his standard issue earthquake survival kit – hardhat, water and energy bars – I can’t help feeling that he’s a long way from his childhood Rock Road home.
John, whose family own Gormley’s Shoe Shop in Ferryquay Street, felt the devastating earthquake that shook Japan last week, bringing with it the terrible force of a deadly Tsunami. From the top of his office block looking over a sprawling Tokyo he saw mammoth skyscrapers sway and shake like plastic toys, fires blazing around Tokyo Bay, people on the street running for shelter from falling debris.
“I was in my office on the 31st floor of the Mori Roppongi Hills building,” said John. “It’s right in the heart of central Tokyo, overlooking Tokyo Bay.”
“Earthquakes occur frequently in Tokyo and usually they start off with gentle rocking of the building. This one was no different except it quickly gained in strength and lasted for at least a couple of minutes.
“The fact that the building is designed to withstand earthquakes means that the building rocked more from side to side and the rocking/swaying lasted for much longer, maybe 10 minutes.
“The first big earthquake was followed by another around 7.2 magnitude and this went on every 15 to 20 minutes for around two hours. The aftershocks continued long into the night, although in decreasing magnitude.
“People were very frightened as people in Tokyo have been expecting a direct hit for some time now. A big earthquake in Tokyo is now overdue according to seismologists by around 10 years.
“I looked out my office window at other large buildings and they were swaying a lot. I actually saw some guys cleaning windows on the tall ball building opposite and their ‘cleaning boat’ was swaying violently from side to side. Even though they were strapped in they were holding on for dear life.”
John says that everyone in Japan is well aware of the standard earthquake procedures they must follow. These measures are even taught in school.
All of John’s staff has an earthquake pack, containing water, energy food and a standard construction type hat. He says some people wear the hats, some don’t. Earthquakes are so commonplace that many people don’t concern themselves too much with them. But this one was different.
“First thing I did was to open the door of the office to make sure that the door frame didn't warp with the shaking and thereby lock me in the office,” he says.
“When things seemed to settle, I looked out the window and immediately noticed large plumes of smoke and fires in the bay. There were a couple of huge fires in the industrial area of the bay. I think they were petrol-chemical plants. There was also smoke coming for maybe another five or six buildings. That was very strange to see.
“We only evacuated the building two hours later as there is more danger on the street with flying glass and things falling off buildings/buildings collapsing.
“It was very orderly on the streets. No panic. No disorder. People remained courteous and calm.
“There were no trains, queues for buses and taxis were so long that the only way home was to walk. It took around three hours due to the amount of people on the roads and the constant aftershocks making people stop and make sure they were not going to get hit by something potentially deadly falling from buildings.”
In the days that followed John flew his pregnant wife Sonny to Singapore after concerns over radiation leaking from the damaged Fukishima Plant 150 miles away from Tokyo.
Fears about radiation, food, water and acid rain have been simmering throughout Japan despite constant reassurances by authorities.
Japan's national police agency said 8450 people have been confirmed dead and 12,931 were officially listed as missing as a result of the disaster – a total of 21,381. About 360,000 people have been displaced from their homes and have taken shelter in evacuation centres. With more earthquakes reported off the coast of Japan in recent days John is, quite rightly, concerned.
“Right now, the advice of most foreign embassies is to leave Tokyo. This has caused a lot of concern. I moved my pregnant wife to Singapore a couple of days after the big quake and when it became obvious there were concerns around radiation leakages. This is still the biggest concern here.
“People have been advised to wear masks, stay out of the rain and stay indoors if possible. Other concerns are that there are power outages, food and petrol shortages and transportation is not working at full capacity.
“This combined with more earthquakes around other parts of the coast of Japan have made most people nervous about what is going to happen. A lot of people do not believe what the government is telling them in terms of the nuclear reactors.
“There is a definite fear of radiation, it has been detected in the air and in the water in Tokyo so there is a definite unease. The government reports are that it is not harmful but most people would rather do without it.”
John is monitoring the situation daily and is back at work at Barclays Capital offices in downtown Tokyo. He is taking the advice of the government and avoiding the water and what locals have branded the acid rain.
His wife, Sonny, remains safely in Singapore.