Crisis in Japan

My sister and her husband are in Tokyo, Japan...

I was finally able to talk with my sister over the phone this morning.  She and her husband were on a subway in downtown Tokyo when that earthquake hit Japan on March 11th.  Because of all the damage and power outage, they could not go home that day and had to go to a shelter (hotel lobby).  Fallen debris blocked the roads and public transportation was unreliable.  Within days, gas price was hiked up, phone lines were down, water and electricity were running low.

They tried to leave Japan but the earliest flight they could reserve was on Sunday, so they decided to go to Fukuoka, a city 5 hours SW of Tokyo, and take a ferry to Pusan, Korea.

We were worried about the possible radiation exposure and the chaos following the disaster, but we were told that people in Tokyo are very orderly and they go about their daily business as usual.  Their seemingly calmness and social order is amazing.  Not even 1 looting has been reported.  No one is trying to hoard up water or food.

Even though I was very relieved by the fact that my loved ones are safe, many people are in a terrible state of the disaster. It's a pretty kettle of fish... This is all so surreal in a very sad way.  It is so sobering to know that nobody can prevent a natural disaster like the mega tsunami.  We realize again how fragile we are on this earth. The loss and damage in Japan are just unimaginable.  My heart and prayer go out to people who are affected.