My mom is from Okinawa, Japan and all of my relatives on my mom's side are in Japan. She is one of 9 siblings, so we have many aunts/uncles and cousins. My grandma is still living and has 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren - my sister's baby will be #20. My grandma lives with my oldest uncle and his family in Mito, Japan - which is in the Ibaraki prefecture. Of our relatives, they are the closest to where the tsunami hit. This map will give you an idea of how far Mito is from Sendai, the largest city hit hardest by the tsunami.
Based on what the news was reporting on the morning of the 11th, we figured that our relatives would be safe. We emailed one of our cousins, Shigemi (one of our oldest uncle's son), to see if everyone was okay. He wasn't able to email back, but got in contact with another cousin, Kiyomi, and she called to tell us that everyone was okay. What a relief! Even though they didn't have to deal with the flooding, they were without power and water for quite a few days. I'm not sure what their food situation was like - as there seemed to be food shortages. (I was at the grocery store yesterday and was feeling guilty for being picky and checking all of the egg cartons - knowing that my grandma and relatives may not have any food to eat.) We did get an email from Shigemi today saying that they have power and water again! We typically communicate with our cousins in Japanese - but he wrote it in English: "Mail thank you. All Ibaraki is safe. At last, it came to be able to use water and electricity." Too cute!
Another cousin, Shiika, lives in Okinawa and is dating a guy who is from Sendai. When we talked to Kiyomi on Friday, he still had not been able to get in touch with his parents - who still lived in Sendai. I can't imagine what it would be like to see your hometown washed away on the news. :( On Sunday night we learned that he was finally able to get in touch with his parents - they are safe and sound, staying with some relatives. Of course they probably lost their home and all of their belongings - but at least they are okay. I'm sure they have lost many friends as well - I can't even imagine. Things like this really make you think about the everyday things we all take for granted like shelter, food, and water!
Editor's Note: I wrote the entries for 3/5 and 3/10 today as well - I wanted to keep them separate to reflect the actual dates.