Big typhoon bearing down on Toyama
Hey everyone,
I’m usually pretty passe about natural disasters here, but this time a big typhoon is heading straight for Toyama! This is very rare; last time it happened, about 6 years ago, it washed out the park across the street. Anyway, it’s now 11pm Thursday (9am EST), and I’m off to bed. The thing is supposed to pass overhead at around 9 or 10 am tomorrow (7 or 8 pm EST). I’m back in Toyama, having come home a day early since all classes are cancelled at Togaku tomorrow. I suddenly decided to come home this afternoon when it became clear that sticking around the Tokyo area might mean facing delays in coming home.
I’ll post updates as I get them, including some video from our home tomorrow.
Bottom line: we’re safe, and it’s kind of exciting!
Oh, in case you want to monitor the news, the name of the storm is “Melor” in the western press, and “#18″ here in Japan:
UPDATE: Friday, October 8th, 9am
Well, as you can imagine, it’s raining hard and the wind is blowing very strongly. But it’s not over the top crazy strong. Just a bad storm. Kids are off from school, Shinobu has taken the morning off, and I’m home from work. We’re all together, safe and sound. Just took some video outside… I’ll get something posted later on, when this blows over. For now, here is the latest report, from 9am:
As you can see, the storm is now passing us by. This is a big relief! Earlier reports had it heading straight for us. Right now the wind and rain are blowing, some leaves are scattered, and puddles are forming in the park across the street. But it’s not that bad! Disaster averted.
Another earthquake? Really?
I woke up yesterday as normal, called my mama in Florida to wish her a happy birthday, then she asked me if we were okay. “From what?” I asked. “The big earthquake near Tokyo!” she said. “What earthquake?” I replied.
And so it goes. Yet another instance of me learning about what’s going on in Japan from my family overseas.
Obviously we’re okay; the quake’s center was way off in the Pacific, some buildings were rocking in Shizuoka (south of Tokyo a bit), no damage was done, and of course we didn’t feel a thing here in Toyama.
If anyone else is worrying about us, sorry for not contacting you about it! Most earthquakes are very ho-hum over here. Bigger news is all the rain we’ve been having and this never-ending rainy season…
Here’s a brief news report that contains all the facts, and a news report from Fox News! (probably the only time I’ll ever link to them!)
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the Izu Islands, 220 miles from Tokyo, Japan, on August 9, 2009. The quake, which hit at a depth of 188.3 miles, did not prompt any tsunami warnings.
There was no immediate word on possible injuries or damage from the earthquake.
Fast Facts
Date: August 9, 2009
Location: 220 miles south-southwest of Tokyo, Japan
Time: 10:55:56 UTC
Depth: 188.3 miles
No immediate word on injuries or property damage
No tusnami warnings issued or expected
Earthquake? What earthquake?
I am at work now, taking a break after teaching three straight classes. I’m surfing the news, and what do I see? Another earthquake has hit Japan!
Major Quake Hits Japan and Indonesia
(CNN) — A magnitude 6.9 earthquake rattled Japan on Thursday, within minutes of a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from either quake, but both prompted tsunami warnings, although Japan’s Meteorological Agency predicted it would be small, about 50 centimeter (20 inches).
The Japanese quake occurred at 9:21 a.m. (0021 GMT). The USGS initially classified its magnitude as a 7.2, but later reduced it.
The quake’s epicenter was offshore, about 80 miles (125 km) south-southwest of Kushiro on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, and about 21.7 miles (35 km) below the Earth’s surface.
Earthquakes between magnitude 6.0 and 6.9 are considered “strong” by the USGS.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said neither quake posed a Pacific-wide tsunami threat. However, “earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers of the earthquake epicenter,” the administration said.
Ha! That’s news to me. Didn’t feel a thing. So, no worries! Here’s a Google Map of about where the quake hit, off the southern coast of Hokkaido, which is obviously way way way far away from us:
Earthquake hits Japan, we’re OKAY
It’s 10am now, Sunday morning, and we’re watching on the news that a major earthquake has hit the Iwate region of Japan (clear on the other side of the country from us). We didn’t feel a thing and are perfectly fine. More later as I learn about it…
Update: 10:48am
I’ve just found an English news report about the earthquake. Here it is:
Strong earthquake hits Japan
1 hour agoTOKYO (AFP) — A powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck northern Japan Saturday, the meteorological agency said.
The earthquake hit in Iwate prefecture, some 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of Tokyo, and rattled buildings in the capital.
Television footage showed buildings also shaking in northern cities of Japan. Bullet trains were automatically shut down as a precaution.
The quake had a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), the agency said.
There was no immediate word on potential damage or casualties, and the agency did not issue a tsunami warning.
A new earthquake warning system kicked in for the quake, with public broadcaster NHK flashing an alert moments before it struck.
Japan endures some 20 percent of the world’s powerful earthquakes. It has built an infrastructure intended to withstand tremors.
So that about tells the story so far. Here is a map of the Iwate area. You can see we are VERY FAR AWAY, so DON’T WORRY!
Typhoon 5 hits Japan; We’re okay
Hey all,
A few weeks ago I got all these worried messages from family and friends, asking me if we were okay because an earthquake hit nearby where we live. “What earthquake?” I said. “Oh, didn’t you feel it? It was all over the news!” people said. Well, we didn’t feel a thing even though it took place in a neighboring prefecture. It took people on the other side of the planet to tell me what was happening in my own “backyard”. Surreal, to say the least.
Yesterday a big typhoon blew through Japan (Typhoons are what they call hurricanes here in the Pacific). It hit the southernmost island of Kyushuu pretty hard, then went north up the coast. It was non-stop news for a while there, but again, we hardly were affected. About 6pm on Friday we had some pretty strong gusts of wind, but that was it- there wasn’t even any rain! Apparently it took a wide line way out in the Sea of Japan, as this graphic shows:
Another natural disaster averted! We are all fine.
Oh, one interesting point about “typhoons”: here in Japan they don’t give names to each storm like they do in the States and elsewhere- they just give them numbers. Typhoon season is now here, and we can expect about 20 storms or so to blow through. Most are not that big a deal. Very rarely do they come to Toyama, as we are protected by the mountains. It wasn’t until I found an article about the storm in English did I realize the western media had given the storm a name- Usagi, which means “rabbit.”
Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.