Japan Devastation: Two Moms Share Firsthand

Miki & her son.

Mother of two, Saori Kumai Stepper left her family in New York for a business trip to Tokyo when the earthquake hit. Miki Rokuroda, mom to a three year old, has family, including her parents and siblings, that live in the devastated areas and at one point couldn’t reach them. Both answer Breezy Mama’s questions.

SAORI

Why were you in Japan?

Saori: I was in Tokyo on a business trip.

Where were you when the earthquake hit?

Saori: At a hotel where we were having a conference.

We have a lot of earthquakes in California and sometimes it takes me a few minutes to realize what is happening. Did you realize right away that you were in an earthquake? Or what was it like when it started?

Saori:We had a few earthquakes earlier that week, so when it hit this time, I was thinking, ‘oh here is another one.’ But this time, it went on for a minute and then started shaking really hard. That is when we went “Oh my god. What do we do???”

How long did it last?

Saori: It felt like 2.5 minutes.

What did you do to stay safe?

We were instructed to go outside when the shaking stopped, as we happened to be near an earthquake evacuation field.

Were you able to get a hold of you family back in New York right away to tell them you were safe?

The phone systems weren’t working, so I emailed my husband to let him know I was okay. It was 2am in NY so he did not know about the news until next morning anyway.

How were you able to fly out?

Saori: I had a scheduled flight on Saturday afternoon. My flight happened to be a few flights that took off on Saturday. Still it was very difficult to get to the airport with disruption on train systems. It took me 6 hours to get to the airport. The flight was delayed, but still many people could not get to the airport on time. The flight was only half full…

Saori and her kids.

Were you shocked once back in New York to learn of just how bad the situation was or were you aware before you left?

Saori: Yes. I saw videos on YouTube. Then I realized how tremendous the impact was.

Since the tsunami didn’t hit Tokyo where you were, at what point did you learn it occurred as well?

Saori: When I got back to my hotel and checked the news.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Saori: After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, Kobe received tremendous support from people around the globe. Time passes and the world moved on, but many of victims who lost loved ones, home, office and community, were unable to do so. Some took their own lives. Many children are still suffering. This tragedy in the Tohoku region is even greater than that of Kobe. I would like to ask for ongoing support for the victims, not just now.

MIKI

Where is your family located in Japan and was that location hit by the tsunami as well as the earthquake?

Miki: My parents are living in Hachinohe-shi, Aomori-ken.  My mother told me that she felt like she was riding on a big boat — like a ferry — and it was shaking for a long time. Their house is located up the hill so they barely missed the tsunami wave. The city, as well, is located on kind of a higher place. But the area by the water (the harbor) got hit by the tsunami. All fish markets, factories and boats got destroyed.

My aunt (my mother’s sister) and cousins are living in Tagajo-shi, Sendai, Miyagi. The downstairs of my aunt and uncle’s house got hit by the tsunami.

At first you weren’t able to get a hold of you family, correct?

When I woke up, I signed in on my Facebook from my iPhone and saw people were talking about the earthquake in Japan. It had been 8-9 hours since it happened. I couldn’t reach anybody in my family by phone.

What was it like once you found out everyone was okay?

My sister who is living in Hokkaido emailed me when it happened. And in her second email she wrote everybody was okay, but didn’t really tell any details. Also she wasn’t sure about our aunt & uncle and cousins in Sendai. But when she emailed me I was sleeping so I didn’t know anything until I woke up. I already couldn’t reach anybody by phone so I wasn’t sure where my parents were, even if they were okay… staying in their house? Or being evacuated to somewhere? I tried to email my sister but couldn’t get any answer. Maybe even the Internet was not really working at that time? (My sister told me all my emails arrived two days later). I was very worried about my parents since it was still very cold out there, even snowing. If they were evacuated and staying somewhere without electricity, gas, food and water, it was definitely tough situation.

My cousin who is living in Tokyo talked to me through Facebook. She asked her father (my uncle, my father’s brother) who is in Hokkaido tried to call my parents and got more info for me. She said my parents stayed in their house but without electricity. But they are all fine, so I could be a bit relieved.

I finally got a phone call from my father about three days after the earthquake. He told me there was still no electricity but they had water and cooking gas. They could eat some stocked food in their house.

For my aunt in Sendai, I got an email from my sister telling me that my aunt and her family were all alive, right after I talked with my father. I started getting depressed a bit by reading, hearing and watching all horrible news, so it was a big relief for me.

Where was your family when the earthquake and the tsunami struck?

My parents were out for shopping, buying some gifts for my son’s 3 years old birthday
They just got in their car in a parking lot when the earthquake struck. They waited till the earthquake stopped then headed back to home.

Horrible thing – they went to see the tsunami. My sister told me that… Their house is located in a big horse ranch by water, but up on the hill. They dropped the groceries off and drove to the front gate of their ranch where they can look out over the sea. My mother said she saw the surface of water rise up slowly. Then they went back home… my sister was angry at them because she couldn’t reach them by phone so even if something happened to them nobody would know!!!

Actually, the tsunami came to the front gate after my parents left, according to one of the workers in the ranch!!

My aunt was in her house, doing some cleaning, washing etc. After the earthquake, she stayed inside since her house is far from water so she didn’t think the tsunami was coming. Then she heard water, and saw it already came to the front door. She jumped up and ran upstairs. Her husband (my uncle) was in his office which got hit by the tsunami. He survived and came home by walking in muddy water.

How did they stay safe?

My parents just stayed in, not going down to the water anymore. There were still aftershocks happening many times so they were just trying to be ready for whatever that could happen next.

My aunt and uncle were staying in their upstairs without electricity, gas and water after the earthquake and tsunami. They had some stocked food. They couldn’t do anything other than stay there. There was still muddy water and a huge mess around their house, and, it’s very sad, victims bodies were floating in mud, too.

How much damage has been done to their home town?

I think my parents city isn’t really bad [compared with other areas]. They got the electricity back in a couple of days. Nothing was destroyed by the earthquake.

But the damages around the harbor area is a bit serious. A friend of my father has his factories of marine products at the harbor, and they got destroyed really bad. All metal containers inside of the factories floated around and hit and destroyed everything inside. My father said the factories won’t be able to be used anymore. Probably all other boats and fish markets too.

My aunt’s city is more serious. The mud and water have gone now, but the downstairs of her house is all covered with mud. There is still no electricity, gas, water so they can’t do anything, even clean up inside of their house.

What needs to be done to get their town back to “normal”?

Always the lifeline should be back first. If we don’t have electricity, we can’t do anything. It’s ridiculous but true. I’m not sure how much information people in the area struck are getting. They don’t have the electricity, probably are not watching news on TV? Do they really know what’s going on?

Anything else you’d like to share?

As a mother, it’s so hard to hear any news related to suffering mothers and children. We heard they need more diapers and wipes for babies, and personal care products for women, like sanitary napkins and underwear (since most rescuers are men, women hesitate to ask for this type of help even if they really need it). Japanese moms who live in Downtown NYC are planning a fundraiser sometime soon. We would like to send donations to a group of people or organization helping those moms and children.

How can people reading this help?

They need more money. Any donation will help them!

Where do you recommend donating?

Miki:

JOICFP
http://www.joicfp.or.jp/eng/

Japan Society (New York)
http://www.japansociety.org/earthquake

Japanese Red Cross Society
http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.htmlhttp://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html

JALCC (New York Japanese-American …Lions Club Charities)
http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php

Saori: There are a lot of charities that are raising money for victims in Japan. Among them, I would like to recommend “Save the Children” which have a dedicated Japan relief fund. They already have a group of volunteers who are helping children at the shelter in the Tohoku region. [As Miki mentioned], we Japanese moms in downtown Manhattan are organizing a fund raising event on April 10th at Downtown Community Center. We will be sending all donations to this fund which is dedicated to help the children in need of help.

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm