The Earthquake: Update

Well. Things are getting weird.

We still have aftershocks. Nothing huge by any means, but we are still shaking none the less. There is also news of a power plant that is also having some problems, but since I don't know the full details, I can't go in to that. To my knowledge, things with that are generally okay. The reason I say that things are getting weird is not because of the earthquake, but because of how people are acting.

In my small area of Ontakesan, we were not truly affected. We were shaken, the trains stopped, but we are not flooded and there was no damage beyond something falling off of something else. However, people are buying up food rapidly. Anything bread based (cake, buns, etc.) are gone. The selves have been empty since Friday after the quake. Super markets are closing, and the one that is open has a line out the door. Small bakeries are overwhelmed and are almost bare.

They've closed the school because of the country's recommendation that people should stay home. It will also be closed tomorrow.

I'm not scared of the earthquake because I'm not going to be anything but shaken, if anything. But the people are the ones that are freaking me out. With everything closing and people buying food like it's Armageddon, it's very eerie. We went to another town today and it was even getting bare in some of the big shops in the train station.

There are black outs in the city. They're scheduled to help conserve energy. It has been said that we will not be affected, but with shops closing down, I think we might have a few hours of darkness eventually. I just don't know.

Kids are leaving. Two kids in my dorm have already flown home. I hear more kids are being brought home by their parents. They say they plan to return, but that their parents just want them home. Most of my dorm does plan on staying since we haven't truly been affected. Unless something goes horribly wrong, we have no reason to go.

I can't wait for things to get back to normal.