asael

I live about 300 miles from where the earthquake hit, but I felt it. We all did. It wasn't big all the way down here, but it lasted for a long time and scared everyone, especially since my area has been expecting a huge earthquake for a few years now.

Then we turned on the TV in the teacher's room and watched NHK showing tsunami footage in real time. There was no tsunami here, thankfully, but the news coming from up north isn't good. The death toll varies right now depending on where you look but it's predicted to pass 1,000, and there are many, many more whose homes have been destroyed. It's only because Japan has some of the strictest building codes and disaster preparedness in the world that it wasn't worse - there have been tons of aftershocks. The worst of the damage is not in Tokyo, so you don't need to worry too much about people there, but if you have friends or relatives in the Sendai area, I hope you can get in touch with them.

If you want to do something to help, this article or this one are good places to start.

EDIT: There's also a person-finder here if you're trying to make sure someone's okay.