The Patch View of the Japan Earthquake

Editor's note: Lynn Jusinski is the Local Editor of Phoenixville Patch.

When a big disaster hits, like the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami, Patch editors find local angles on the story. I compiled coverage from across the nation, as I found it fascinating on a personal level.

We had our own connection right here in our little nook of Patch. Limerick Patch editor David Powell’s wife was in Japan on business when the quake hit. She arrived home safely, and David compiled .

Here’s a collection of some of the coverage of the quake—all on a local level—from across Patchland:

First-hand Accounts

Sunset Hills-Crestwood Patch in Missouri of a freelancer’s sister, who had a flight scheduled to Sendai, one of the hardest hit areas, on the day of the quake.

“During the night Thursday, my father Don was having difficulty sleeping. He turned on the TV. He realized immediately the potential danger and scrambled to alert his Japan-bound daughter, my sister. Phone calls, texting and e-mails buzzed among family members until we finally made contact.”

Up in Massachusetts, Lynnfield Patch who lives in Japan and works as a teacher there. While not in the worst hit areas, Brandon Reed’s story nonetheless hits home.

“Some people may say that ‘they had a feeling’ or ‘there was something in the air,’ but as far as I knew, I was going to go to work, go to Tokyo to spend the night at a friend's place, Saturday night go to a concert, come home and Sunday help my girlfriend's family put away the ceremonial dolls that were displayed from the Japanese Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri),” Reed wrote in a letter. “I had a pretty busy weekend planned. I was looking forward to a memorable weekend and I got it. In spades. Goodness, did I get it.”

Former Patch local editor Sonia Narang went to Japan the day before the earthquake. She’s in western Japan, away from the epicenter, and .

“In Kanazawa, located about 300 miles away from the hard-hit areas of eastern Japan, people have been glued to Japanese television news since the earthquake and tsunamis hit,” Narang wrote. “Every TV channel is showing a constant stream of footage: homes and cars engulfed by water, broken bridges, people gathering in evacuation shelters and nuclear reactor explosions.”

In Georgia, former Peachtree Corners resident Rosemary Lebow Saeki , which she experienced outside of Tokyo, in an article in Norcross Patch. Norcross Patch editor Laura Sullivan that hit several years ago, as well. 

“She says the shaking continued for what felt like hours, so she started chanting and singing, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you,’ as loud as she could to drown out the noise of the walls shaking, books falling and cups breaking,” Meg Donahue wrote of Saeki’s story. “[Five-year-old] Lily eventually joined in singing, too.”

The Nuts and Bolts of the Disaster

Fair Oaks Patch editor Joshua Staab caught up with United States Geological Survey scientists who explained . Fair Oaks Patch, located in California, also reported on .

Also in California, a power plant chief that a similar nuclear disaster wouldn’t happen at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

“Pete Dietrich, head nuclear officer at the plant, said fail-safe mechanisms in place at the facility, such as the fuel tanks being buried below ground, would prevent the failures that have occurred at the Japanese nuclear installations.”

The Rescue and Aftermath

In Fairfax City, Va., the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team , as they’ve been dispatched there.

“The team is continuing to monitor the surrounding conditions in Japan and are reporting no increase in radiation levels at their location,” Dranesville Supervisor John Foust reports from Sumita. “The team members reported some aftershocks with no damage or issues and they remain well rested and in good spirits.”

In Menlo Park, Calif., Japanese firefighters training there to help with the aftermath of the quake. After flight delays, the group of firefighters made it back to Japan.  

“[Fire Chief Harold] Schapelhouman said two of the trainees were from companies located in areas heavily impacted by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami, which killed thousands of people.”

Gilroy, Calif., that was hard hit by the quake. Both the Gilroy Patch and Facebook had posts on them relating to the safety of residents in the sister city.

“We are ok, but don’t have electricity. No telephone. Still shaking. It’s been four hours,” Keiko Sato, a longtime exchange program interpreter, wrote shortly after the quake.