Tsunami

In grade school I learned all about world geography. Like where the continents are located and labeling all of the countries on a big map. So I realize how it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to me when someone came pounding on our door at 4:30 am warning us of a possible tsunami, due to a very large earth quake in Japan. Ummm, Japan, hmmmm, that's really far away. I thought, as we sat down at our computer to check a map for more compelling evidence. I know Japan is East...but relative to us...oh look...

it's right across the Pacific ocean...duh.

That's not to say I didn't KNOW where Japan was, I guess I just never thought about it's location in relation to me before. Admitting such lameness is not the point of this post however so, moving on...

Looking back, I think that the scariest part of our day was when we got the 4:30 am knock on the door. Nothing gets your heart beating faster than the vague awareness/vulnerability you feel when you awaken out of a slumber to loud menacing noises. You don't know whether to grab your gun or your robe. Seconds later your brain catches up with you and you realize an intruder WOULDN"T knock and you choose clothing.

It was a close and thoughtful friend who warned us. We are very grateful.

We immediately turned on the news and learned a little bit more about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan before we moved on to finding out more about the possible wave that was descending upon us. The word of mouth report we received was that it could be up to a 10 ft wave. After some research we found other reports estimating 3 ft waves or lower, so we decided somewhere in the middle was more likely and that either way we weren't going to stay home and wait for it to hit our doorstep. (We live at sea level, just up the street from the bay) They estimated its arrival to be somewhere between 7:00-7:15 am, local time.

We had plenty of time to consider what we wanted to take with us(other than children, though that should be so obvious I don't know why I feel compelled to mention it) though I don't think it would have been hard if we had only had 5 minutes. In fact, it only took us a minute or two to decide. We don't have anything of real value, just sentimental value, a few papers/letters, love notes, books, and trinkets. Only enough to fit in a small box. Then we grabbed our personal identity papers(passports, birth certificates, social security cards) and added them to our small pile.

Because we had the time, we packed a bag for everyone with the necessities to live comfortably for 3 days or so, like we would if we were going on a short trip. We put our nonperishable food items in a bag, gathered our emergency preparedness/camping accessories and threw everything in the van. Ryan was sorely disappointed the jeep was low on gas and therefore not a good choice. I could tell his getaway vision involved 4-wheel drive. Sorry Ryan, maybe next time.

By 5:30 am we were heading out. It just felt right to go ahead and leave, even though we had about an hour and a half before the tsunami's proposed arrival. We had no idea if the roads would be crowded with people evacuating or not and we just didn't feel like waiting around home till just before the tsunami's proposed arrival. We weren't even exactly sure of the "official" evacuation route because the PDF file wouldn't open from the city's website. I'm guessing it was a bit overloaded with people trying to access it. So we just decided to head to higher ground and use our radio to find out more details of the Tsunami. We drove both cars to our Church parking lot(it happens to be on a high hill in town) and we sat together in the van. The kids watched a movie on the portable DVD player while we tried to find out more information about how big the waves were when they hit Hawaii. We figured it would be a great way to estimate what might be headed our way. We used this time to text and call our closest friends and family to let them know we were fine and to warn anyone who hadn't yet heard of the possible tsunami.

The parking lot was pretty full when 7:00 am rolled around. There was much speculation on whether or not the wave was going to be anything more than a small surf and at that first arrival time for the first wave we saw nothing of consequence in the ocean in the distance. All reports confirmed our suspicions that the wave, though traveling fast, was fairly small. I think around 8 ish we decided to head home. Even with reports of more waves possible we felt good about returning home. Though, we did leave everything in the car, just in case.

Our day proceeded normally(though a bit sluggish:) until about 10 am, when the second wave was due to hit. I received a text from a friend informing us that the bay was draining quite quickly and that they thought we might like to know. Thinking safety first, we put the kids in the car again and decided to leave for a bit. We just ran some errands and returned home about an hour later. Everything was as it should be and we never saw even a hint of rising water in the bay. We know of a few people who actually saw the wave come through and their estimate was 1-2 ft. I haven't found any official reports to back up this information but I don't feel inclined to research it any more. It was small.

In retrospect, we could have let the kids sleep in(us too) and gone about our daily lives without worrying about anything. But everything is always clearer in retrospect and I know if it happened again, we would do the very same thing we did do.

Take our most prized and valuable possessions and avoid all danger possible.

We had so many friends call and text who were concerned about us. It made us feel very loved and we are very grateful. After the day ended and I finally sat down to relax I was overwhelmed with emotions. I finally took some time to read about and watch the video footage of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. It makes my heart ache and my gut twist with anxiety. So much devastation, so much loss. I am feeling very grateful for our fortunate turn of events. It's not hard to think about what might have been, as we watch the devastation in Japan and the damage the water caused even here along the west coast, so close to our home.

It's not everyday you pack up and leave your home with fear that when you return it may be ruined or gone. It sure makes you value what you already value most, even more.