CFHS grad in Tokyo experiences earthquake's aftermath

Even though Japan is thousands of miles from Montana, members of the area community have been affected by the massive earthquake and resulting tsunami Thursday that claimed thousands of lives.

Erik Einarsson, a 1996 Columbia Falls High School graduate, has lived in Tokyo for seven and a half years. Tokyo is 189 miles south of Sendai, the city most affected by the natural disaster. In Tokyo, skyscrapers swayed during the force of the earthquake, which Americans on the other side of the globe could only witness in news reports and YouTube videos.

Einarsson had the good fortune to be out of Japan at the time of the quake.

"Last week I was in Europe for work, so I heard about the quake from colleagues I was visiting in Helsinki," he wrote in an e-mail to the Hungry Horse News. "After hearing of the quake I followed the news and friends' posts on Facebook, just like the rest of the world. Many of my friends walked for hours to get home the evening after the quake, and others stayed where they were until morning when some of the trains and subway lines started running again. The sheer number of people trying to get home was amazing (because the population of Tokyo doubles during the day), but everyone was calm."

Einarsson's mother, Gayle Skees, who lives in Columbia Falls, said she was thankful her son was in Finland at the time of the earthquake. Skees' other son, Curtis Samuell, is stationed in Hawaii with the U.S. Navy, but he was not affected by the tsunami.

"It's very difficult to let go as a mother," Skees said. "All mothers are worried about their kids no matter what their age is. Had Erik been there I would have been scared for him. I was really appreciative that he was in Europe."

Einarsson flew back to Tokyo Sunday evening, little more than 48 hours after the earthquake. He wrote that the Narita airport had suffered noticeable damage - the roof was leaking - but overall the airport was operating smoothly. However, the mood was somber.

Since the quake, there have been numerous reports about the response Japanese citizens have had to the disaster, about how they're cool and collected, how life is going on. Einarsson witnessed this himself.

"After arriving I took a train to the city, which to my surprise was running on time," Einarsson wrote. "After reaching the city I took a taxi to my apartment, and was again surprised to see some shops open along the way. The local convenience stores were also open, but the selection was pretty sparse. No water, no milk, no bread, no toilet paper, few batteries and most canned things were gone. A delivery truck arrived during the night, and I noticed a garbage truck driving around, indicating things are slowly returning to normal."

And in the midst of the return to normalcy, Einarsson found irony.

"At the convenience store, I noticed a box next to the cash register for people to donate their spare change to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. How ironic," he wrote.

Einarsson's apartment building is less than two years old, and there was very little damage to the building. He lives on the fifth floor of a 14-story building.

"My refrigerator and washing machine had scooted themselves across the floor a bit during the shaking, but most of the things on my shelves were still standing and nothing had been broken," he wrote. "I noticed a small crack in the tile in the entryway, but not much more than that. Japan is very good at building earthquake-resistant buildings, which is why the death toll is relatively low despite the tremendous power of the quake. You'll notice that in most of the tsunami videos the majority of buildings are still standing. Had this earthquake struck anywhere else the death toll could have easily been a hundred times higher."

Einarsson, after graduating from CFHS, went on to New Mexico Tech for his undergraduate studies and Portland State University for a master's degree. His doctoral studies took him to Tokyo, where he studied nanotechnology in the engineering department. After finishing his studies, he stayed on as a postdoctoral researcher and was offered a temporary faculty position.

"As of now there have been nearly 450 aftershocks (100 since I arrived yesterday)," he wrote, noting that an aftershock was happening as he typed the e-mail. "I have only felt a few. Most of the aftershocks are small and near the epicenter, and the big ones happened on Friday and Saturday."

News that another large earthquake, of 7 or greater strength (the one that struck Sendai was an 8.9, the largest in Japan's recorded history), is expected in the next few days, is keeping Einarsson and the people of Japan nervous.

"Could this be 'the big one' that is long overdue to strike Tokyo? Only time will tell," Einarsson wondered.

He reported that he has not been to Sendai to see the devastation, nor would he want to go.

"I have been to the area a few times in the past, though, so it's odd to think the hotel I had stayed at, right on the coast, and the small family restaurant where I ate were almost certainly swept away by the tsunami."

Einarsson said that many of the people he knows in Tokyo are concerned about the situation with the nuclear reactor. Since the earthquake, the cooling systems of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have malfunctioned. There have been several explosions at the plant, and authorities are doing all they can to keep the fuel in the reactors from melting down and releasing radioactive material.

There have been numerous conflicting reports, so nobody is quite sure what to think. Some guy has set up a webcam broadcasting live Geiger counter readings from his Tokyo home, and thankfully the radiation levels are normal," Einarsson wrote, including this link to the Geiger counter readings: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo?lang=ja_JP .

"Personally I think the plant is sufficiently far from Tokyo that low levels of radiation will not affect us here. I must admit, however, that the authorities are likely downplaying the situation in order to prevent panic. After the second explosion at the Fukushima plant (Monday) people are expecting the situation to get worse before it gets better."

Einarsson said planned power outages in the city began Monday. Though he's lived in Tokyo for quite some time and doesn't have any family there, he has enjoyed his life in the city so far.

"I don't have any family here, but for some reason I haven't left yet," he wrote. "In light of recent events, however, a quieter, stabler place sounds pretty nice."

SUMIO AND KUMI Harada of West Glacier have a close connection to Japan as well - they're natives of that country.

Sumio, an acclaimed wildlife photographer, said Monday both his family and his wife's family came away from the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country unscathed. Their families live farther south in Tokyo. Their home was not damaged, but they did feel the quake.

For several days, Sumio wasn't able to get a hold of a close friend of his, Masaki Fujimura. Sumio said he's sent him several messages, by phone and e-mail, but to no avail. But then good news came late Monday, his friend was OK.

Fujimara sells bear spray and bear bells in Japan. While it's not thought of a country with bears, it does have a population of ornery Asian black bears and grizzly bears. The two met through publications Harada has taken photos for in Japan and Fujimara has been to Montana to visit.

The Haradas moved to West Glacier in 1994 so Sumio could pursue his interest in wildlife photography. His work has appeared in National Geographic and many other publications.

He said it's nearly impossible to concentrate on his photography work with the earthquake. He spends much of his time watching Japanese television live on the Internet and the destruction has brought him to tears at times.