08-14-2015, 08:55 PM
GuyGene wrote:
I was in Chiba when Hanshin quake hit. I got permission from government to drive down with a van load of goods, and water. Wow, Kobe looked like a war zone the night I arrived. Stayed at a friend's apartment that was okay, but no electricity. People needed water more than anything those first few days. Same in Tohoku... for water, that is.
We had 2 other families move in with us temporarily because their homes were damaged. One of the women was 3 days overdue with her second child. No clinics open, traffic absolutely at a standstill, no hospital would take her because of caring for the wounded. We finally showed up at Ashiya City Hospital, which was running on emergency generators, and demanded that they admit her, which they finally did. A Seattle news station heard the story and showed up a few days later for the story. They couldn't get around, so we fed them dinner and were able to drive them to the hospital.
The only water available was sent in big relief trucks. You could only get a couple of liters per time and the lines were horrendous. Above our house was mountainous, so I thought about finding a stream to collect water. While driving around a neighborhood I found water on the road. I wouldn't think twice about it in normal times. Followed it to the source and found a house with a hose hanging over the front gate. Come to find out they were connected to an underground well, not city water. A sign on the gate said to ring the doorbell and they would turn on the water. Another guy and I would go up there at least once a day to fill coolers and a garbage can full of water, and then haul it to our house and other friends' who couldn't get out. Water is extremely heavy! Half the day was spend obtaining water for 3 families.
I could go on and on.
