Happy Beginnings
Emiri Hashimoto, a sophomore communications major at the University of Tampa, sat in her room with the sunlight gently reflecting off the pink floral prints that cover her sheets and clothes. Here, it is peaceful. Just like she described the beginning of her spring break visit with her family in Nagano, Japan before disaster struck.
She described Nagano as a downtown metropolitan area that brought her happiness and warm feelings. It is the place she grew up.
Nagano is inland and, while it didn’t see the effects of the tsunami directly, frightening earthquakes still shook the city on March 11 and 12.
Hashimoto described her worries for her friends and family during the earthquake and now. She also explained her fear when the 6.2 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, hit, while she was driving in a car with her mother.
While we spoke, I could not help but notice her phone chiming away every few minutes. I had to ask what the calls were about. She told me, “They’re notifications of aftershocks in my town,” She hesitated to read, “This one says another 2.2 aftershock is happening … now.”
Vertigo
The Minaret: When did you go home?
Emiri Hashimoto: I went home on March 10. I was with my family in Naples and we went to Japan for a few days.
M: What were you feeling when the earthquake started?
EH: The first one, I was in the car with my mom driving. We were driving and then we stopped at the traffic light. I thought I was getting vertigo, so I told my mom that I felt weird, something was wrong. We looked out the door and saw that all of the signs of the stores were going crazy, so we realized what was going on. The rest of my town just went back to what they were doing. We did not know a tsunami was going on.
M: When you first got news of the tsunami, what were your initial feelings? Were you worried for the lives of family and friends?
EH: I have a friend who is at Misawa Army Base where the tsunami hit and I was worried for him. I tried to contact him on Facebook and a week later I was able to get a hold of him. He said he was scared. He told me he was really busy helping people, evacuating them from the tsunami area.
M: When you saw the images of the destruction, did you feel the need to do something, or to cry, or were you shocked?
EH: When I went home and turned on the TV and saw all the damage, it was just hard to believe. I didn’t have any words. I couldn’t think anything. All I can do is donate money, food, water for people who lost their houses. They still don’t have electricity or water. They’ve lived in a gym for two weeks.
Getting Out of Japan
M: Can you tell me about trying to leave?
EH: I’m the only one who left. All the transportation was stopped. Even though my town and my area was totally okay, I had no way to get back to the airport. They shut down transportation just in case something happened.
M: When you were leaving Japan and leaving your family, what went through your mind?
EH: I wasn’t sad leaving, but I was really worried about my family. Not only did we have an earthquake, but we had aftershocks everyday, radiation in the food and all these other things going on.
M: Do you think there is a need for UT Students to help with Japan?
EH: Yes, if they want to. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. They’re trying to get new homes for those who lost them, but I’m just really concerned about safety right now.
Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@spartans.ut.edu.
Your reporting is a little off – when I read that she was driving with her mother during the 6.2 quake in Nagano, I wondered what they were doing in the car at 4 in the morning Saturday the 12th. That would have been super scary – dark and shaking, yuck.
The March 11 Tohoku quake was about a 4 in Nagano City – I was there for a meeting and felt it too. It was like being seasick all of a sudden, and it went on for several minutes.
A friend of a friend died in the tsunami. It’s been a sad time for everyone. I’m glad Ms. Hashimoto’s SDF friend is safe. They’re doing a lot of good work up there.
Oh, and this showed up on my Google News page, congratulations on reaching people all the way in Japan!