Niigata earthquake

Everyone OK? We don't actually get too many tourists over this way, but I hope no one has been affected. I live 40mins north of Niigata City and it's been shaking all day, but no damage in this area.
Did anyone else feel it?

Hope that you're all OK ... just heard it on French news!

Kira

I felt it this morning (in Tokyo) just after I arrived at work. I thought that it felt a lot like the swaying we got in the last Niigata earthquakes, as opposed to the sharper shaking you get from a smaller, closer earthquake, so I was pretty sure there had been a big one somewhere.

I've been watching the news a lot and it seems that almost all the collapsed buildings were very old traditional wooden buildings- I used to live in a similar building so am glad to be in a much newer one now!

# 1, Where do you live? I'm in Koide (two stations away from Urasa on the Shinkansen line). My town is okay with no damage at all just the initial fierce shaking. Also seeing the images on TV, feel bad many of those traditional houses were destroyed.

my apartment in Yokohama was shaking strong for over a minute - to the point where I felt mild seasickness.

Hey Dharma, I was asking if you were OK on GS, as I know you post there. Big news over here. Looks like the roofs of a lot of older homes collapsed, trains derailed and roads caved in. Some 600 people were injured but miraculously only 6 deaths have been reported. I heard they closed Roppongi Hills as they expected strong aftershocks and didn't want to have people getting stuck in the building.

#4 I was getting pretty queasy as well- it was exactly like being on a boat in choppy water. I was glad I was on the first floor and not any higher.

Thanks guys for all the replies. We're OK over here, but pretty shaken up as it's now 9.15pm and we just had yet ANOTHER one. It was a 4, so a bit smaller thank goodness. But, when it starts shaking you just don't know what's going to happen. They say to be aware that there could be aftershocks up to 5+ or 6- (Japanese scale) for up to a week. We're feeling pretty nerve-y and I don't think i'll ever get back to doing my final marks for my students!

I also sponsor the Habitat for Humanity group at my Uni and the kids were collecting money today in Niigata City. Apparently they gave up and went home after the initial quake, thank goodness. The bad thing was that they forgot to send me the message that they were OK until this evening!

Cocodrilo, thanks for your concern!

Karadavasana you are right about the old buildings. This area of the country was lucky to have missed out on a lot of the bombing in the was, and so there are still many old houses and buildings.

gima17, are you still feeling these tremors?

Here's the link in eigo for the first reports in case anyone is watching out. http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/quake_local_index.html .

Kyosukete everyone!

hi dharma,

Just felt another one 20 mins ago. It's gonna be hard to sleep tonight. Hope the trains are running by tomorrow morning. I heard a large section of the highway from Nagaoka toward Tokyo is closed.

Hi gima17,

This is starting to be a bit annoying. I don't think I'll be able to sleep either. The wind is picking up for the storms that are forecasted for tomorrow. One gust just blew a door shut and I about jumped out of my skin! Guess I'm still pretty jumpy!

Hope you go alright! Try to get some sleep :-)

I moved into a new apartment in Tokyo 6 months ago and it was the first earthquake i have felt here. Like #2, because of the swaying I knew it was a big earthquake somewhere else in Japan, not Tokyo. Usually the local ones are smaller, sharper shudders. I am glad it wasn't somewhere that the typhoon had hit.

I got relatives in Tookamachi and Ojiya. I can't get through to them (all those cellphones on at the same time). They were hit hard in 2004, and now this.

# 11, I hope your relatives are fine. One of my schools is in Ojiya, and I called the teacher there. He said minor damage, large cracks in areas, but I don't think there were any collapses. I will be there tomorrow. Yes, getting through on phones have been a problem.

Thanks for the update on Ojiya, #12. Watch your step as you ge through the area. I am glad to hear that your teacher sounded okay.

Now if only I can get through to my uncle/aunt....

karandavasana, I'm on the 11th floor of a 40-year-old building :-0

there was another long, steady, strong shake shortly after 24:00 Monday night/Tuesday morning. At first I thought I was drinking really good sake, but then I realized, no, it's another quake.

Just got through to my relatives in Ojiya. Their house is okay, with no one in the family injured, which was a relief. They said stuff flew around when the quake hit, but no one in the family was in the way. But there apparently were some injuries in town, which I am very sorry to hear about.

#14, I bet that sways a lot. Glad it's not me ;-) We were woken up by a quake around midnight as well. Things are getting pretty lively around here these days- my father is starting to ask me again why I don't come back to NZ.

Good morning guys!
Sounds like everyone is as knackered as I am. I couldn't sleep a wink!

Gima, take care at work, eh? I have to go in for a meeting too, but at least I'll only have to sit in that creaky building for an hour or two.

Jacksan, I'm so glad to hear your realatives are OK. I hope they continue to be safe! It's lucky they were able to stay at home safely. People were sleeping in their cars last night just like three years ago in the Chuetsu quake. Why, oh why, don't they sort out emergency services here?!

Grog, yes, that one was off the coast of Kyoto area and it seems to have shaken mostly your side of the island, strangely. I guess it was another part of the plate settling in.

Karandavasana, I'm thinking the same thing...why aren't I back in NZ!

Take care everyone!

Glad you are OK DC.<BR>Glad to hear your relatives are ok Jacksan.<BR>It's always a worry not being able to get though.<BR><BR>I was at Kujukuri yesterday (walking along the beach rather than<BR>swimming in the water which looked a bit worse for wear after<BR>they typhoon) and wasn't aware of it until I checked my keitai<BR>on the way home.<BR><BR>

The lifelines have been cut off for thousands still- no electricity, gas or water. Tankers are bringing in drinking water but it looks liek it may take some time before power and gas lines are restored.

my friend in Shizuoka could feel it but said it wasn't a big deal.

Any explanations (other than stupidity) for so many evacuation centers not having the most basic of evacuation supplies (water, food, toilets)? Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I find it hard to imagine in a country where earthquakes are so frequent, that such simple things were not provided at places where they should have been.

Got a mild jolt (M=3) about 11:30pm ourselves up in Hokkaido. My kid had been watching typhoon damage a week ago, so yesterday was a chance to compare and to try explaining what earthquakes are and do. Last night he got to feel one.

I have a friend in Niigata, but I decided not to be one of those people to clog the phone lines. Nothing I could do by reaching him anyway, so I'm going to wait for a day and then send an email.

NTT asks users to stop calling quake-struck areas, sets up emergency message service
11:02am Tuesday, July 17

NTT East asked telephone users on Monday to refrain from making non-urgent telephone calls to earthquake-struck areas in and around Niigata Prefecture after switchboards became jammed.

The telephone operator said that users were having trouble connecting calls to some areas after the earthquake hit Niigata and Nagano prefectures shortly after 10 a.m.

NTT East has also set up an emergency voicemail service for telephone users in the 025 (Niigata) and 026 (Nagano) areas, allowing them to leave messages for callers.

Local residents should dial 171 and listen to the instructions. They will then be able to register their telephone numbers and record messages for those trying to call them. (Mainichi)

I don't think it's realistic to have mega facilities permanently set up across the country,<BR>but there defintitely should be portable loos, washing facilities, towels, bedding, <BR>etc that can be deployed as soon as they are required.

My students did a presentation on earthquake emergency plans and they said that most local governments will start supplying water, food etc on the third or fourth day after the event. That is why earthquake emergency information leaflets always state that each household must have enough supplies to last each person 3 days. Why they do this, I don't know.

I agree about the emergency resources. People being interviewed just kept saying over and over that there were no toilet facilities in the shelters and no water to even make formula for babies. Some meals were finally being made at about 9.30 or 10pm and some portaloos were begining to show up. There is water available from tankers now too, but they need it to keep coming. It's just such an amazingly slow reaction time considering how organised other things can be in this country. I'm not sure what good it is keeping three days worth of water in your house if it collapses and/or you have to move to a shelter and can't carry it.

Japan appears to be a "developed" nation from the outside, but the truth is that many people are living with very basic facilities (emergency services and medical included) here, and especially in the country towns. I really hope that those people in shelters get the help they need quickly.

Gima17, how was work. Are the raods and everything clear? Did the students come? Our students are on a break before exams so we don't know who has been affected yet, but I know there will be many because it's so close to the last big one that affected so many of our students and their families.

Glenski, I hope your friend in Niigata is OK. Is it Niigata City? A bunch of my students were there yesterday and I think that it is very likely your friend is fine. Also, I hope that was enough of an education for you kid and that he never has to experience anything bigger!

Take care

I'm more inland, so can't find any damage here. Will look for evidence in Ojiya tomorrow. The trains have special schedule and are running much slower than usual. Hope the damaged areas recover before winter.

over here in minakami (top of gunma) we felt it pretty strong (force 4 they say). no damage as far as i know but the shink was stopped briefly.

dharma,
Don't have the address at my fingertips, but he was unscathed in the earthquake that hit there a couple years ago, so I can only guess that he survived well this time, too.

Something that does need to be addressed is boosting tne capabilities of the mobile phone network.<BR>People will be relying on them to find people and to learn if people are ok.<BR>If the system gets jammed at midnight on New Year's Eve /Day. It's not up<BR>to the task of providing reliable reassurace in the event of an earthquake <BR>somewhere like Tokyo.

In emergencies, it's expected networks will be overloaded. I was in NYC on 9/11 and during the blackout, there wasn't even a dialtone on mobile nor landlines. Only the internet was working.