Scores feared trapped as death toll from 2 Kyushu quakes hits 37

More devastation reports are streaming in. My NHK Twitter feed has been buzzing non stop for the last few hours.

According to the TV, 4 dead last night.

Japanese people are really strong. I know you'll able to face also this disaster. You are amazing. Hugs from Italy.

This one is proving to be much more devastating now that day break is allowing a better view. Lots more structural damage caused by this larger quake including massive landslides, severed roads, and damaged bridges. Doesn't help that rain is being forecasted for the area which could trigger more landslides.

Wondering if the earlier one is going to be classified a foreshock similar to like back in 2011 when there was a 7.3 that occurred 2 days prior to the 9.0.

feel so sorry and sad of what happened, a big hug from usa too

So electronics and car manufacturing plants have shut down.

Yet they refuse to shut down the nuclear plants. How about they focus on safety first?

Manufacturing plants shut down because nobody is going to go to work.

Manufacturing plants shut down because nobody is going to go to work.

Incorrect. They shut down because the companies' inspectors wanted to assess the damage and logistical disruptions.

And just yesterday some people were saying that the aftershocks were proof that this was over and there would never be another quake for 25 years... not HOURS! Just goes to show that you never know, and earthquakes are FAR from predictable.

Take care, people.

Yeah. After March 11th, some major things scientists thought they knew regarding tsunamis that were generated from megathrust events went right out the window due to previous unforeseen phenomena. The takeaway is that while our science is pretty good, it is also far from accurate in this area including earthquakes. Like assuming the other days M6.5 was the maximum this area would see for awhile.

NHK had copters flying over the Minamiaso area and the landslides there don't look good. Huge chunk of a mountain is covering a good portion of a roadway and the village shows major structural damage since the land there also subsided. Lots more collapsed structures will be found today.

Prayers to all these folks in the region.

I have to admit, been through too many earthquakes to count and they don't really bother me, but THIS one last night had me in a serious panic. 7.3 magnitude is just off the charts, not to mention the constant aftershocks. The damage is just devastating and there are no words to describe my sadness and empathy for the people of Kumamoto. I pray and hope the people will get through this devastation and very difficult time. I have to go to Kumamoto from now to pick up my brother in law and his family, we lost contact with them about 4 hours ago, the last message from them was that they were in a shelter and where they live, the homes and apartments sustained a lot of damage and were instructed they are not allowed to return to their home until further notice and the bad thing is, they are not that far away from Mt. Aso, so I am not sure how long it will take, traffic looks very bad, but we need to hurry, at this point, we just don't know if there will be more aftershocks exceeding the earlier ones. I'll try to keep everyone posted.

Two quakes, the second stronger than the first, in the space of a day or so. My youngest went from being excited at feeling the house shake for the first one to being scared of the second one. I do hope we have seen the last of these for a while. After all, Kyushu is supposed to be the place in Japan that is relatively safe from quakes.

My heart is really breaking for the people of Kumamoto right now. I am praying that the worst really is now over.

My thoughts are with those sadly killed and everyone that has been affected by the events of these past few days.

My in-laws are there, and we in California are worried. I've heard but not verified Aso Bridge may be down.

Hope the area returns to normal and the death toll doesn't rise.

After all, Kyushu is supposed to be the place in Japan that is relatively safe from quakes.

Kyushu is relatively safe from quakes, so I'm really surprised that a M7.3 earthquake struck this region. This is evidence that the Ring of Fire (which Japan, unfortunately, is included in) is a very unpredictable zone where earthquakes can happen several hundreds of kilometers away from the most earthquake-susceptible areas.

This is why everyone in Japan, irregardless of location, should live everyday with the expectation that an earthquake can hit where they live at any time.

Here is the link for the Facebook Safety Check in for the Kumamoto Quake-

https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/kumamoto-prefecture-earthquake-apr14-2016/?search_type=safe&hc_location=ufi

I hope the nuclear power plant is okay.

Here is some FNN footage of the landslide damage in Minamiaso.

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00321923.html

To make matters worse, there is a dam in Nishihara village that has structural damage and could collapse if there are further aftershocks.

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00321931.html

Some of the areas with landslides are also damming up rivers which could release a torrent of water with the low pressure system that is forecast for the area.

My friends and relatives and all of you in Japan - Please stay strong! I know these earthquakes and tremors are terrible... but you have a strong history as a country - you can get through this!

My video of hope prayer for you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfLalrRQAx8

I like how western media makes it sound even worse. This earthquake was bad no doubt, but given any other country (where hundreds/thousands would be missing/dead) is a testimate to earthquake preparedness and training in Japan. Just like Kobe 1995, many deaths and injuries are caused by those living in older houses with heavy roofs (eg photograph).

So electronics and car manufacturing plants have shut down. Yet they refuse to shut down the nuclear plants. How about they focus on safety first?

Ah, yes. Because adding unnecessary power outages to the list of hardships the people in Central Kyushu are facing right now is a GREAT idea {rolls eyes}.

___.

Bass4Funk,

I hope you and yours are safe down there. I flew out of Fukuoka just last evening thinking, foolishly, that the shake we had the night before was the worst of it. Take care making the trek to Kumamoto.

bass, take care and good luck both on the journey and in finding your in-laws. Stay safe.

Let's hope thats it for the big aftershocks and it settles down a lot more now. Stay safe for those of you in the area and the rest of you...probably a good idea to check your earthquake kit is fully stocked with fresh water, candles, batteries etc

God bless.

Very sad for all the affected people down there. Also very sad is the shortage of construction workers due to the Olympics and less so for rebuilding Tohoku. It is going to be a long while for things to get back to normal in Kumamoto and surrounding areas.

To Bass and anyone with family in Kyushu...our thoughts and prayers are with you! There are only tears while I watch live feeds on the TV. Most of us had experienced the earthquake from 3/11/11 and I don't think we could wish that on our worst enemy. God bless you all.

Was watching the news about Kumamoto on a private channel. Baseball on both NHK channels.

Bass, do take care.

Good luck bass for you and your family

Ah, yes. Because adding unnecessary power outages to the list of hardships the people in Central Kyushu are facing right >>now is a GREAT idea {rolls eyes}.

Were you in Japan during the last 5 years ? Japan never had any power outages when all nuclear plant were shutdown. It is legit to worry about the condition of the nearby nuclear plants after 2 earthquake of that magnitude, it is normal to use past experience to improve the future experience. I do not understand why safety precaution are not taken to suspend nuclear plant activities in that region while people are assessing the risk and the situation.

God bless Kyushu.

Let's hope thats it for the big aftershocks and it settles down a lot more now

As one of the university professors who was interviewed on NHK said, they are going to have a lot of data to study (since the conventional thinking prior was that the main major quake occurred the other night and would be followed mainly by aftershocks that would eventually decrease in magnitude and then numbers).

What is giving them pause though is this area has several active fault lines running from Kumamoto to Oita and some of the JMA experts mentioned that while this M7.3 range tends to be near the limits of inland quakes, they are being cautious.

They mentioned the two larger quakes (M6.5 and M6.4) are now likely foreshocks to this one due to the nature of these faults (where a large quake could trigger new ones on a different fault). Thus the comment by the university professor since they learned a lot of new things from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Unfortunately, large aftershocks are going to continue and given the number of compromised structures, any large ones will make that problem worse (like the wall under one of the yagura towers at Kumamoto-jo continued crumbling with each aftershock today).

I would rather be without power than knowing the facility sending me that power was irradiating the surrounding area.

Were you in Japan during the last 5 years ? Japan never had any power outages when all nuclear plant were shutdown.

There were rolling blackouts in Kanto in the summer of 2011.

The news coming out on the news look awful. The landslides are pretty big and they're expecting there could be more with a combination of heavy rain later and potential aftershocks. For people trapped and people with no shelters in evacuation areas it was pretty cold overnight, forecast to be 25 today, but cooling down again later with the rain.

According to the news now 9 people confirmed dead and at least 700 people injured.

My thoughts are with the people of Kumamoto prefecture at this awful time. Kyushu and the people of Japan will get through this.

Best wishes and prayers to everyone down there, hope it doesn't get worse.

The area will take some time to recover, hope they get the lifeline/infrastructure fixed soon.

For the people that say shut the Nukes, not that easy you can't just flick a switch. Even a reactor in cold shutdown is still vulnerable for any Quake big enough to damage it. Plus, they will need right the energy to help rebuild and replace other power sources that were damaged.

Raised in Los Angeles and have been through a few Earthquakes. One thing no one has thought about is that you can have several faults close to being triggered and then have one quake trigger another. This happened when on fault line in Joshua Tree area set off one in Big Bear Lake a few years back. So it would be possible to have a swarm of earthquakes. In Los Angeles the most damaging Quakes have not been from the biggest faults but from the array of smaller faults that run all through the area that Los Angles is built on, some of them from faults that scientists did not even know about until they created a major earthquake. The Northridge quake was one of those unknown fault lines

One interesting aspect of Japan is how much of it has active volcanoes. Just as eruptions can cause earthquakes, so can earthquakes cause eruptions. In both cases volcanoes and fault lines only have to be near the point of moment of release for one to trigger the other. But geological history shows there have been very active volcanic and earthquake periods in the past and they can happen again.

The Japanese are pretty tough, a s most people living in earthquake and volcanic ares have to be. However if this should speed up and happen more often, it still could become more than could be endured, and you could even see refugees leaving Japan.

I am not saying it will happen in the near future, but it can happen. Just imagine Mount Fuji in full eruption for a couple of years. Moving seventeen million people and setting them up elsewhere would be a task daunting for any country s so far no one has ever actually done it.

Here in the States, Seattle and the Surrounding area comes to mind. Not only a major volcano, but an earthquake dangerous are as much of the city is built on swamp land and an area that has in the past few hundred years had a major tsunami caused by the most powerful earthquake offshore of Vancover Island that swept across the Pacific and hit Japan without warning. I believe the Japanese called it the The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 AD. Seattle and the surrounding towns would be heavily damaged if another one hit and some parts of the land would rise or fall as much as a dozen feet or more. I believe that Earthquake was in the 1600s of early 1700s. Now consider if you had the volcano go a well and all that snow suddenly melted and washed down Mount Rainier.

So it can happen, and someday no doubt, it will happen.

Horrible...Just horrible. Can rescue groups work properly with so many aftershocks hitting the area? I just saw a report on Yahoo Japan and it seems like there are grade 4 aftershocks every 10 minutes or so. Earthquakes hitting in the middle of the night are the worst. I had survived one such back at 1995 (hit at 3am and it was 7.1 M) and my mom lived through one back in the 60s. Her house collapsed while she and my uncle were sleeping and her grandmother was the one who saved them. I guess a lot of people had the same fate last night. I hope and believe everyone will get through this. Can't really do anything about earthquakes except take safety measures.

Hugs from Kobe, for everyone in Japan reading this time to check your Emergency Quake Survival Kits are good to go, and if you dont have one get one. Heres some ideas. At a minimum, you should have the basic supplies listed below: Water: one gallon per person, per day (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home) Food: non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home) Flashlight Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible) Extra batteries First aid kit Medications (7-day supply) and medical items Multi-purpose tool Sanitation and personal hygiene items Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies) Cell phone with chargers Family and emergency contact information Extra cash Emergency blanket Map(s) of the area Consider the needs of all family members and add supplies to your kit. Suggested items to help meet additional needs are: Medical supplies (hearing aids with extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes, etc) Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers) Games and activities for children Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, bowl) Two-way radios Extra set of car keys and house keys Manual can opener Additional supplies to keep at home or in your survival kit based on the types of disasters common to your area: Whistle N95 or surgical masks Matches Rain gear Towels Work gloves Tools/supplies for securing your home Extra clothing, hat and sturdy shoes Plastic sheeting Duct tape Scissors Household liquid bleach Entertainment items Blankets or sleeping bags

Stay safe and ready people

When stocking on emergency food also consider that you might have no extra water or cooking facility, unless you got some good camping gear supplies.

Always shake my head when Japanese consider Cup-Ramen, or similar emergency food. Alpha rice, canned food etc is good, again consider camping supplies.

I am hoping everyone I know and don't know are all right. Don't know where a quake will hit next. Be prepared.

Update: Traffic is horrendous and what normally takes about an hour to get there, we've been at it now for 2 1/2 hours, total gridlock, we also had since that time two 5.0 aftershocks in traffic. It's probably going to take us another hour or so before we reach our destination. Thank you all for your well wishes, seriously appreciated.

Hope all goes well Bass.

Pemmican is good for emergency rations and easy to cook and store, as are MRE's if you know someone in the military.

...unnecessary power outages....

Live in the center of the city, and it was surreal: 1:30 AM, no power anywhere for over an hour, and people streaming out of their houses in the pitch black towards any open space. Fortunately, I was able to find all three of tents by feel and set them up for the children and elderly (including me). Aftershocks continue.

My goodness....this is mind boggling, didn't expected an even strong quake happening! You guys say safe and be vigilant! My sincere prayers of peace and healing goes out to those in need of it right now!

Forgot the Vegetarian version of Pemmican would Muesli or Granola Bars, again easy to prepare, but I guess when people are really hungry they will eat anything.

I prepare both Pemmican and Muesli Bars as I often go hiking or camping and they stuff keeps for month and even years unrefrigetatef., plus it is fairly lightweight.

Another consideration your emergency pack can get quickly big and heavy, so water purification tablets, etc are better than bottled water.

Always add a personal item/trinket in for moral support pic of family is another must.

I'm watching the news now and the aerial images of landslides and homes, buildings, and cars sliding into hills and earthquake cracks are just horrific. Now about 15 people are reported dead from the calamity. Everyone in the area take extreme care and stay safe.

Terrible and shocking news! Thoughts and prayers with those affected.

Bass-san i hope you get your family and travel home safe. I am so sorry to read about this and pray for people who are trapped to be safe and rescued and all to be ok. We pray and hope for everyone ...and thank you JT for sharing this news with us who are far away. Let's hope that this will be it for quakes for now. i hve been thru them and when the ground acts like water it is very scary no matter how well we understand what it is...still very scary. i am very happy to see so many nice supportive posts and am glad JT is removing obvious trolls. this is a time for sympathy and support.

Hopefully the volcano removed some extra stress in the region

Bass, please take care out there.

Keep those comments rolling in guys. Comments here are equal in value as the news in many ways.

Once again it's terrible news - but two things that restore my faith in humanity in times like these. First is the great bravery and dedication of rescue teams who do what they do during aftershocks and having concerns about the safety of their own loved ones. Second, the way people here who are dueling constantly and often pretty heatedly from totally different religious and political viewpoints come together in mutual concern.

Also shows that some of us who vent sometimes about Japan do really love this place more than most people can understand.

Temporarily out of Japan and facing the "Why are you going back?" And "Why do you live there?" questions. And looking at bewildered stared when I answer that it's home for me.

Bet I'm not the only one here whose family still wonder when I'll grow up and come back. Lol

Good job too Japan Today.

JNN had very coveage in Kumamoto.

Citizen 2012

There were plenty of power outages post earthquake. And secondly when there is no damage to the nuclear plants there's no need to turn them off.

Our hearts are with you -- we lived in Kyushu and visited Oita and Aso -- we wish for an end to these shocks and quick healing.

@ gaijinpapa - very nice comments.

Keep your heads down and all the best, Kyushu folk. Prepare for more very big aftershocks. This brings back all the memories of 5 years ago for those of us in Tohoku. People will need mental support at least as much as material.

Heres hoping one of the big commercial TV stations here will put together a 24-hour-TV telethon in the next day or two to support the folk down there who have lost everything. Get the likes of Kuma-Mon, SMAP, AKB, Matsuko Deluxe, and any Kyushu-based megastars, to try and get some money and put food on the table for those poor people.

GANBARE NIPPON...!!!!

Incorrect. They shut down because the companies' inspectors wanted to assess the damage and logistical disruptions.

No, that's not entirely correct at all. People are NOT going to work simply because they can't or don't want to leave vulnerable family members alone. Don't try talking about something you clearly know nothing about! My sister in law left Fukuoka this morning, but said transportation such as local trains, are at a standstill. She had no sleep since Thursday and won't be returning to work in Kyushu for at least another week. Thousands of others are doing the same.

MACH GO GO GO Bass

Japanese people i admire you for your strength. Praying that you will soon see better days, and that politicians will shut down nuclear reactors. It is time to do it. Stay safe

Citizen2012,

Japan never had any power outages when all nuclear plant were shutdown.

Yes, it did. There were rolling power outages in the aftermath of the quake that contributed to the shutdown of manufacturing all of the Tohoku region. The shutdown of the Fukushima plant because of damage from the quake directly contributed to those outages.

There are no damaged reactors with this quake, so there is no need to shut them down.

One would have to be incredibly naive to believe that safety check haven't occurred as a result of of the quake. It also takes a special sort of conceit and arrogance to believe that the Japanese energy industry learned nothing from a quake that killed nearly 20,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more and that you are somehow infinitely wiser.

I'm certain you have it all sorted out in your mind regarding how Japan should handle its power management affairs, but maybe you could leave your anti-nuclear activism on the shelf for a little bit while the people of Kumamoto are still digging their loved ones from the rubble?

I have the utmost respect for the Japanese both of my children and husband are bilingual and biliterate in Japanese and English. We have a lot of earthquakes in Alaska along with volcanoes. My prayers are with all of you I would love it if you would relocate to Alaska as we need more Japanese people here. You are the hardest workers and the best people I have ever met. I look so forward to coming to your country and am currently learning your language myself then my family will come. God bless you. You are always welcome here in Alaska!

bass, good luck!

I'm certain you have it all sorted out in your mind regarding how Japan should handle its power management affairs, but maybe you could leave your anti-nuclear activism on the shelf for a little bit while the people of Kumamoto are still digging their loved ones from the rubble?

Thank you, LFRAagain. There's a time for it, but this ain't it...

We even had some power outages in Tokyo, luckily not in my area West of Tokyo.

As for the Nuclear plants, a shutdown means no power generation and the Fuel Rods are not inserted into the Reactor Core, but it is all still radioactive and just as suspectable to damage from a Quake as a running one.

Big difference between a shutdown and decommission which takes decades.

No disrespect intended and many condolences to the families of those who died and were injured and to the thousands of homeless. However, is Japan ready to admit that, this is not a safe place to build over fifty nuclear reactors? Yes, there were no irregularities reported from the reactors within the prefecture, but if the epicentre was another 100 K's to the west the report could be very different. I'm always amused by these reports that state, this is an active fault or this is not an active fault. The whole country sits on the cusp of three tectonic plates making the whole country an active fault. There are no safe areas in Japan for nuclear reactors. Earthquakes cannot be accurately predicted nor can the areas that will be effected. Once again, condolences to the dead, injured and homeless.

Onagawa was closer to the Tohoku epicenter. Substantially stronger earthquake and closer. And it also suffered no damage.

Perhaps it's time to remember that more people have died in the last 61 hours from earthquakes than have died in the last 61 months from nuclear.

Heda_Madness: "Perhaps it's time to remember that more people have died in the last 61 hours from earthquakes than have died in the last 61 months from nuclear."

Perhaps now is not the time for pitching nuclear power. Period.

Just had another Level 5.3(Shinfo 4) aftershocks down there.

Smith...follow the conversation I was responding to two previous posters. Bother of whom's first comment on the subject was anti nuclear and ignoring.

But yes this topic has nothing to do with nuclear and we should focus on the tragic loss of live as well as those that have lost everything.

I am anti-nuclear. But if some users want to exploit this tragedy and topic for their usual "only in Japan" typical bashing, they show how much malicious they are. If you look at JohnY921 comments history you can clearly see why his comment was in bad faith and he is probably enjoying this tragedy. He brings dishonor to himself and his country of origin.

I've just scrolled through the list of quakes in this area just in the past 18 hours or so. A really heartbreaking read.

Best wishes and thanks to our Kyushu comrades for keeping us updated. Drop us a post when you can.

Ganbatte Nihon! Hugs from Spain

I hope you are OK Bass.

It's hurt! Be safe my friend.

Heda_Madness: "Smith...follow the conversation I was responding to two previous posters. Bother of whom's first comment on the subject was anti nuclear and ignoring."

Better than asking me to read the conversation, which I did already, would be to contrast the tone in your response vs. that of others. First, pointing out that the NPPs are still on while other factories and industries are closing down is a valid point, given the fear of a recurrence of what happened with the Fukushima plant and the dangers of NPPs being on fault lines in general. As such there is nothing wrong with bringing it up, nor is there for people being concerned about the plants and the issue. Second, that point was taken up by other posters, and then by you, but there is a very noticeable difference; they matter of factly pointed out that there was no damage to the plants nor, as such, dangers of them releasing radioactive materials, melting down, or what have you, and no reason for them to shut down. YOUR comment was a shameless plug for nuclear power, suggesting that people are more likely to die in the earthquakes than by said power generation. HUGE difference.

"But yes this topic has nothing to do with nuclear and we should focus on the tragic loss of live as well as those that have lost everything."

Agree to an extent. People are valid in bringing it up, and hopefully those fears and concerns are mollified when it is point out that IN THIS CASE there is no direct damage from the quakes and the situation is being monitored. People should NOT, however, use it as any kind of pro or anti-nuclear campaign fuel, so to speak.

How about we focus on the people rather than your anti nuclear politcal agenda. Much love Kyushu

For people considering rushing down to help, please wait. At this time there is too much chaos and too few supplies and rations. What supplies there are will be needed by the residents. The coming weeks or months will be when volunteers are needed . If you do go to volunteer bring your own food and water with you.

sigh

At no point did I plug nuclear power. Disillusioned, again, questioned as to why japan has nuclear power he said that if the plant had been closer to the earthquake the results could have been different. I responded to that point by giving an example of to dispute that. Using a fact. You seem to think that those facts are actually plugging nuclear power. Whereas I use them simply as that, as facts. At university we were taught to provide facts with our statements. Perhaps the requiremen's for a science degree are differnet in the US to the UK but when I did my environmental geography degree we needed to produce facts in response.

You say that it shouldnt be used as either pro.or anti yet you feel the need to target me as usual because I am pro. Yet don't feel the need to either confirm the power cuts post 2011 or question the relevance as to what nuclear power has to do with an earthquake that has killed tens and left hundreds or thousands homeless.

Surely if people are valid in bringing it up then people are equally valid in responding to it.

Prior to my 'alleged plug' you would note that I'd already said that the plant suffered no damage and didn't need shutting down.

I know you're anti nuclear but I do find your constant claims about me to be tiresome... still waiting for you to show me where I've defended Tepco.

Abe should resign. Local people should be relocated away from danger until things calm down. I have spare rooms and would welcome children and old citizens. Btw, there is also a NPP in Saga containing radionuclides in storage, and 7 active volcanos. This senareo was predicted, so I can't understand Abe, well I can but I will be labeled a conspiracy theorist. Let's help each other.

Readers, please do not turn this discussion into a debate on nuclear power.

I am sort off anyi-nuclear mostly due to the waist and lack of storage/disposal, glad my country held a referendum! Before they decided to put our 1 pland into operation. Vote was a big NO and ended selling to Russia, with Italy we are nuclear power free

Granted some small test reactors at universities and research labs.

Back on topic.

Doubt few people will sleep down there tonight with the incoming rain and strong wind. We will see more landslides and more houses collapsing hoping they won't shelter in them with their bluesheets.

Extra water can also accumulate In faultlines and that is another story.

Wish I had my military unit that I am on a short break from here with our gear to help out. We call ourselves pioneers and help building temporary bridges , shelters, etc in such situations. Besides our other duties.

Doubt few people will sleep down there tonight with the incoming rain and strong wind. We will see more landslides and more houses collapsing hoping they won't shelter in them with their bluesheets.

Extra water can also accumulate In faultlines and that is another story.

Wish I had my military unit that I am on a short break from here with our gear to help out. We call ourselves pioneers and help building temporary bridges , shelters, etc in such situations. Besides our other duties.

The rain is a worry as Kyushu always seems to suffer more tha m it's fair share of landslides. Hopefully the weather wont escalate what is already a dreadful situation any further.

pray for us minna sama!..

Dear Japanese people i don't know how can describe my sadness and empathy but i know how you're strong enough to face and pass this big devastation and very difficult time I am praying that the worst really is now over. Egyptian friend

Everyone, please be safe.

Praying that the worst has passed.

Once again the old guard fails to lower their noses and accept help from our allies. The US has been on the ready since the initial get go but the government fails to heed the help being offered and instead continues to snub its nose in the air. This now has gotten serous and beyond the control of SDF but does this government listen to its people the answer is obvious and wont' make the call until it is too late.

From Dublin, Ireland, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kumamoto. Donal

Given the state of the roads shown on TV and also according to what bass said it is not easy to get around. Most Helicopters are still used for search & rescue. Not sure how many airports are still open at least of the ones big enough to take military crafts.

Those conditions won't change with outside help for some time, they can stockpile in centers till the infrastructure improves.

Trust me, Japanese people, around the world there are some people who really love you, in a genuine and passionate way. I always feel close to you. Gambare! In Italian is "Forza e coraggio!" Some days ago, Japan donated to my city, in Italy, some sakura trees, like sign of friendship. Thanks, now I have a bit of Japan where I live! You made me happy. My thoughts will be always with you guys, don't give up.

Well I am surprised to have the results of my suggestions proven true, two earthquakes and a small volcanic eruption. Now I hope that is the end of it as the people have gone through quite a shock with all this. Some day there may be worse ones, or more of them, let us hope that will not be for quite a while from now.

Found this on FB, From Fukuoka American Center

"Kumamoto American Citizens: Kumamoto City Intl Foundation has opened a shelter for foreign residents. English info avail 09:00-22:00 at TEL: 096-359-2121. "

English speaking people in the region may get help here. Also anyone, who can't speak Japanese, nor English, in the region should try to get help from any Japanese around you or police officers, SDF soldiers. Don't stay alone.

This is not going to back to normal soon. and it's cold there.

We will looking forward the exactly official victim numbers, it's very important

Any foreign people in Kyushu, Free WiFi is now available in whole Kyushu area. find SSID starts from "0000".

Also, in Kumamoto area most of schools around you are now Food Depot. Take care.

God bless the victims and their loved ones.

How are you doing, bass4funk? Let us know, and take care.