The 46th floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Japan swayed through dinner in the restaurant made famous in the film Lost in Translation. I sat amazed at the engineering that enabled the Japanese to outsmart the threatening earthquakes that they face on a regular basis.
During one of my many trips to Japan, I remember what felt like a rumbling subway under my feet. I was clueless as to what was happening, until I saw everybody starting to run. Only then did I realize that we were experiencing an earthquake. Somebody from the hotel pulled me down to an underground space that turned out to be a car park and a tunnel with a few strange stores. Hidden deep in the pathway was a Japanese gay bar decorated like a Halloween party. We ran into the bar, and once inside, I saw the most beautiful Asian men I had ever seen. They welcomed us and I thought to myself that this was going to be about one of the most interesting evenings of my life. My room was on the 44th floor, which was coincidentally on lockdown, so this would be where I would spend the night.
The Japanese are always prepared, and somehow continually manage to live with the threat of earthquakes. They are stoic and will be do the best that they can to make it through difficult and unpredictable times. However, this time, they were outsmarted by the unthinkable, a 8.9 earthquake with the threat of a 7.0 earthquake shock to follow. The danger is far from over and we must not forget the threat of a nuclear meltdown that they are now facing.
This disaster is reported to be 700 times more powerful than the most recent disaster in Haiti. It is hard to keep expecting everyone to give during these lean times, but we must help our Japanese friends!
To get involved with the American Red Cross Responding to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami go here .