More unsettling happenings

Well, today has been quite rich in… tsunami alerts.

This morning, word came through that there had been a very large earthquake off the coast of Russia and tsunamis were expected. From there, the whole situation seemed to escalate, from advisories to full-on warnings and from Japan to what seems to be every country on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Here in Chiba city, we went from an advisory mid-morning to warnings and evacuation orders in three of the wards by midday. As of this evening, the warning has once again been downgraded to an advisory.

My family and I did not evacuate. To be clear, this wasn’t just to be belligerent or ignore instructions for the sake of it, nor do I recommend it if you are at all unsure about your area. This was a considered decision based on how far we are not just from Tokyo Bay, but also quite a way from any rivers or other bodies of water. Our suburb is also at a relatively high elevation. The other locals seemed to think the same way; the local high school where we would evacuate carried on with their summer club sports matches with no signs of anyone heading for shelter.

That said, we will definitely continue to keep an eye on things (I know my phone will make me continue to do so too; the alerts have barely stopped all day). I hope everyone stays safe out there, particularly those of you who are closer to the Pacific coast of the country!