University community responds to devastation in Japan

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake, which struck off the coast of Japan, is the largest earthquake to hit the country on record and resulted in tsunamis of up to 33 feet in height and the deaths of over 8,000 people. Current estimates include around 3,000 injured residents and 13,000 missing people.

According to numbers released by the University, when the earthquake hit, 14 students, faculty and staff affiliated with the University were in the country. As of Sunday, eight members of the community remained in the country.

The eight graduate students, two undergraduates, two researchers, one faculty member and one staff member were spread across the cities of Kyoto, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Gifu.

When the earthquake struck it was “strong enough to be noticeable and unnerving, but not particularly scary on its own,” Leheny said in an email. “It got really worrisome because of its duration … This one went on for over two minutes.” Earthquakes typically last around 15 seconds.

Leheny, who has been in Japan on sabbatical since last summer, said he had never experienced an earthquake of such magnitude. Having grown up in New England, he “didn’t learn as a child how to respond to earthquakes,” unlike many Japanese citizens who are trained in earthquake response from their youth.

“It was interesting how quickly the training (which is ubiquitous in Japan) kicked in for the other customers,” Leheny said. “I was probably the last one under [the table] because I really needed to see what other people were doing before I could process that this was what I was supposed to do.”

Leheny described how those around him responded as the quake’s intensity increased.

“The woman sitting across from me dove under the table, as did all of the other people sitting at our large table,” he said. “When I sat up, I realized that the woman sitting across from me had opened the window directly next to her, which is one of the things people are trained to do here: open the doors and windows to make sure you can get out in the event that the room partly caves in.”

When the Starbucks staff went upstairs to escort customers out through the fire escape, Leheny said, his “legs were still shaky, like when one gets off a boat after a few hours.”

“I thought the quake was still going on,” he said. “I don’t remember the quake itself stopping.”

Despite the shocking experience, Leheny stressed that the nearby infrastructure is still operating well.

“There are shortages of some supplies,” he said. “Large bottles of water also disappeared from the shelves, as did milk, and it’s taken some time for the supply and distribution systems to get these back ... But again, these are inconveniences. Nothing more.”

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However, there has of course been significant concern over the explosions and radiation release at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

Wilson School professor Frank von Hippel, an expert in nuclear energy and arms control, said the “plant is now a radioactive environment with radiation levels in some parts too high to allow access for long enough to do repair work.”

“Most of the release has been blown out to sea, but the wind has changed now and the radiation doses outside the plant perimeter may begin to rise unless the fuel is covered with water,” he explained.

However, von Hippel said that he does not believe the radiation will spread much farther than the coasts of Japan and added that he hopes the incident will allow for greater regulation of the use of nuclear power in the United States.

Although people are concerned about the nuclear power plant, Leheny explained that the most pressing concern in much of the affected area is sheltering people.

For the most part, he noted, the U.S. media has been emphasizing what it should: “the humanitarian crisis facing the half million people in cold and undersupplied evacuation shelters, or stuck in homes without electricity, water or food.”

In part because of the humanitarian effort that needs to be undertaken in the country, Leheny does not intend to leave the country until late this summer.

“My wife, her family and I have plans to move in the event of something even more disastrous from the nuclear power plant or other immediate threats to our safety,” he said, “but barring something like that, we’re trying to find some way to contribute more directly to the relief efforts as soon as we’re allowed.”

Several campus initiatives are looking to help the victims of the earthquake and students who may have ties to those affected.

The day of the earthquake and tsunami, the Davis International Center sent an email to select groups of undergraduates offering advice for reaching family members as well as the contact information for Counseling and Psychological Services.

Jan Cash ’14, secretary of the Japanese Student Association, said in an email that the group is trying to create various fundraising efforts on campus, but spring break “set [them] back a bit since so many people are off campus.”

Fundraising efforts were thus limited to “a donation table up in Frist that was organized by a graduate student [and] a few other people who were working independently” she explained. “We have a donation box set up in Frist and will have more up in the residential colleges once spring break ends.”

“The JSA has been working to collaborate with many organizations on campus including the USG, [the] Taiko club, a cappella groups, dance groups and many of the other Asian groups on campus,” Cash said. She added that the group is planning on holding a benefit concert at a later date.

The JSA is also trying to collaborate on a nationwide project with other colleges such as Stanford, Rice University, Wellesley College and Dartmouth College.

One fundraiser that has been discussed is a million paper cranes initiative. “We hope to make paper cranes ... to show our support for Japan,” Cash said. The project is based on the old Japanese tradition that if someone creates a thousand paper cranes he or she will have a wish granted.

“Many of our members have family and friends in Japan,” she said. “The people I have talked to so far have said that their family is accounted for, but I have not spoken to every person on the JSA listserv … Personally, my family in Tokyo is fine [and is] staying in the country.”

Google has also created a website to help those who may have trouble contacting family members directly.