World

Japan Quake Moment #4: Family Scrambles to Get Outside

Editor’s note: This video is part of an ongoing series on The Blaze featuring some of the Japan earthquake’s most breathtaking videos. We have numbered them sequentially so that it is easier to keep track. We will post them throughout the day.

Comments (33)

  • MrsNix
    Posted on March 13, 2011 at 6:05pm

    The boy with the camera was the woman’s son. They didn’t leave the house until there was a lull in the shaking. They got outside and it started up again…they were heading to the car to drive to high ground…then they got surprised by the severity of a second wave of shaking.

    In Japan, when you live on the coast or on an island (like Okinawa), when a quake comes, the first thing you do when the shaking stops is check the weather report for a tsunami warning. Then you LEAVE. There are mere minutes after a severe quake before the waves can hit. You don’t sit around between a couch and a table. That’s how you deal in California. In Japan, you get your ass to high ground…immediately.

    Hope that clarifies.

    Report Post » MrsNix  
  • RockerRepublican
    Posted on March 13, 2011 at 1:06am

    What kind of world do we live in where people can rationalize a thought such as “My life is in danger but I’m going to keep filming it”?

    My thought it “screw the damn camera, I’m going to save my own life”.

    I just don’t get it. But I’m happy these people made it out safe and unhurt.

    Report Post »  
    • MrsNix
      Posted on March 13, 2011 at 6:07pm

      He was a teenage boy. Teenage boys do things like that.

      Report Post » MrsNix  
  • davenetdog
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 11:50pm

    This vid is from Sendai 仙台市 (by the license plate Kanji) Weather had been warm for a few days in Japan, this occurred late Friday afternoon. The quake was quite long and all sense of time was distorted as it occurred. Minutes after the the quake struck I turned on the news to see where it was. Being about 20 miles west of Tokyo I was shocked to see the quake was all the way in Sendai (over 250 miles) so knew it had to be big. It was a sliding quake shifting side to side making it hard to walk. I’ve been here for 19 years, its the worst I’ve ever seen. I was in Aomori when there was a big one a couple years ago (probably same fault line) and this by far was much more severe.

    Report Post »  
  • Onefarwanderer
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:07pm

    Amazing. I wish I understood Japanese but even without you can hear the panic in their voices. The rocking and squeaking of the cars was surreal. Side note: Anybody see how neat and clean that street was?

    Report Post »  
  • Hephzibah
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 11:31am

    That quake went on for a LONG time! And the aftershocks are so numerous and strong…this is just horrible. Endless prayers for those poor people!

    Report Post » Hephzibah  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 8:28am

    Wow, I’m not sure that laying down under power lines was a good idea but, when you’re panicked, I guess you can’t think of everything.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • POIPNE
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 11:23am

      You’re right GONZO, mostly you just concentrate on walking and staying upright.
      Imagine standing on a teeterboard with three or four people pulling it in every direction at once. I experienced a few quakes while living in northern Japan back in the ‘80’s. Although none were as severe as this one, it’s still scary as hell. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. THEN, when things finally settle down you sit and wonder “was that it, or is there more to come?” The aftershocks can do more damage than the actual quake because things have been rattled and are off-balance to begin with. The Japanese are used to tremors – it happens a lot there and they usually take it in stride as part of life. To see them this frightened and panicked indicates just how severe this quake actually was. This video appears to be in the south based on the lack of snow. Has anyone mentioned that northern Honshu (the main island) is normally under snow this time of year (they get a lot!). Add the snow sliding off every roof and tree to the mix and it’s even MORE scary.

      Report Post » POIPNE  
  • Marylou7
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 5:36am

    I have a hard time watching these things unfold. My nerves are shot just knowing there is nothing I can do but pray and pray I do.

    Report Post » Marylou7  
  • GA_dandelion
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 5:11am

    no. 1 set camera down.
    no. 2 help lady get up.
    no. 3 pick camera up

    Report Post » GA_dandelion  
  • Veritas
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 1:06am

    I was around when the last New Madrid fault went off. Granted I was still a young person, but it threw me across the room! I hope that fault is not next to do something like this, our you guys may never hear from me again!

    Report Post » Veritas  
  • 229Mick
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 1:05am

    Frightening. But I don’t think I would have gotten under the power lines, and adjacent to the glass covered car port!

    Report Post » 229Mick  
  • joan k
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:49am

    @Booklvr777 That information is not helpful. They say you should lie between a couch and a table now .. not under the table nor should you lie under a door frame. Apparently the people who do that are crushed to death. You have a higher probablilty of surviving in between the couch and a table bc it places a space between you should the ceiling fall down.

    But having experienced my first and only earthquake tremors in Mexico … my first reaction was to run outside too.

    Report Post » joan k  
  • booklvr777
    Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:21am

    Running outside during an earthquake is a foolhardy thing to do, unless your house is actually breaking apart (which this one didn’t seem to be doing–stuff was falling off of shelves but the roof wasn’t falling in). You get under a desk or table or stand in a doorway and hold on! She ran outside and laid down underneath power lines! Next to huge, heavy, metal objects that could have easily crushed her if the earth had jolted a certain way and caused the cars to flip over (not an unlikely scenario in such a strong earthquake). I understand being terrified, who wouldn’t be, but that’s why you educate yourself and train yourself what to do in case of an earthquake.

    Report Post »  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:50pm

    What I want to know is why anyone would want to grab a camera in an earthquake. I would grab something but it wouldn’t be a camera. Especially in a house that is coming apart.

    Report Post »  
  • teresa2010
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:47pm

    I like their non union cars

    Report Post »  
  • Goldlady
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:43pm

    The violence and length of this earthquake is stunning. The combination of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor problems makes this the most horrific natural disaster of my lifetime. I also pray that God helps these people.

    Report Post »  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:35pm

    I experienced an earthquake once on Guam in ‘67-’68; I was in the bathroom at the time and my parents were at the base bar. My brother and I exited the house in a flash and went to the field between the housing and waited………

    That was a minor quake.

    that IS TERRIFYING what these people have experienced.

    Report Post » Stoic one  
  • MrButcher
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:07pm

    I wish I could help…..

    Report Post » MrButcher  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:09pm

      Agreed, this is a nightmare made real.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Showtime
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:15pm

      Dear Lord, PLEASE help those people!
      This is horrible to even think about. I can’t begin to imagine what they are having to go through.

      Report Post » Showtime  
    • Templar Knight
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 3:46am

      If there is a program to go over and help then sign me up.

      Report Post » Huguenot Descendant  
    • walkwithme1966
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:11pm

      I can’t believe how long it lasted!! It just kept going and going – I have never been in a earthquake but I have witnessed the awesome power of a tornado and it took me years to recover from it!!
      http://wp.me/pYLB7-JM

      Report Post » walkwithme1966  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:52pm

    Scary indeed.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Old Truckers
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:55pm

      Wow, you can really sense the panic and the fear in their voices.

      Report Post » Old Truckers  
    • 8jrts
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:11pm

      WOW!! I can’t imagine not having the solid ground to hold on to….when that is moving there can be no sense of reality.

      Report Post » 8jrts  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:48pm

      Scary. I hope those people weren’t in the path of the tsunami. The Japanese people (tourists) I have met are very polite, trustworthy, and helpful.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • AzDebi
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:48pm

      My God…it must really have been horrific being as you could really hear the fear in their voices and the way the camera fella was huffing and puffing…also, I guess the Japanese are pretty used to earthquakes…so this had to have been way over what they usually experience…

      Report Post » AzDebi  
    • GONESURFING
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:08am

      Yes, very scary indeed. Have felt a few minor ones in Japan and at home in Hawaii but nothing like this. They build very well to withstand the earthquakes, but nothing can stand up to the tsunamis. Have friends in one of the worst hit costal towns, please pray for them and all of Japan. The great earthquake is very scary indeed. Hawaii had some tsunami damage, but we really dodged a bullet here as most costal areas only hand some surges and not much property damage. Again, please pray for Japan.

      Report Post » GONESURFING  
    • AzDebi
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:20am

      Just read that the quake magnitude was hiked to 9.1!

      Report Post » AzDebi  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 12:25am

      @AZdebi

      Just read your posting that you worked at Palo Verde; here is a couple of interesting facts, my grandfather lived over the hill from it while it was being built (I used to watch the pit for the first reactor being dug as a kid) and it DOES rest on a small fault line.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 1:40am

      Thoughts and prayers go out to all effected in Japan…

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • rpp
      Posted on March 14, 2011 at 2:03pm

      Looking at the time index on the video, the shaking lasted around two minutes! Also, it looked like there was a small aftershock almost immediately.

      Report Post » rpp  

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