11 March 2011

I woke up...

Photo taken in Lincoln City, OR (June 2010)

I woke up this morning to read about the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. So sad. My heart is aching for the Japanese people. And then I read that Tsunami alarms were ringing and people were being evacuated from my lovely Oregon Coast.

Of course when I hear 'Tsunami' I immediately think of the 2004 disaster in Indonesia (like it was yesterday) You know, we're lucky that we have a warning system that gives authorities several hours to evacuate people to higher ground. (Lucky as long as the earthquake isn't in our own back yard that is.)

I have a love-hate relationship with the ocean. I love it when I'm in control or just sitting on the beach watching it. But it's such a powerful force which you can't control and devastation can happen so fast which makes Tsunami's (and the ocean) scary. I think my hate of the ocean comes from when I was younger and building a sand castle on a beach in Florida, away from the water, and then all of a sudden a wave got me and I remember being tumbled about in the surf completely submerged in the water. It happened fast and was so scary. The wave finally released me - I had a bloody nose and was crying. I was scared to death and got away from the water as fast as I could. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's where my hate of the ocean comes from.

Anyways, it was a bit nerve-wracking reading that my home had an evacuation order, (Home = Oregon) especially since I know several people who frequently stay at the coast. I'm not sure when Oregon became my home, but it is. It used to be "the place we moved to after my Dad retired from the Navy" but not anymore. I wonder when it changed?

4 comments:

Laura said...

We are all a-okay.

I agree with you about the ocean love/hate. It can be so beautiful and calming yet so destuctive and angry.

Love you! :-)

Nancy said...

We are fine here, but I hear Crescent City, California wasn't as fortunate. You have to respect the water! So sad for the people of Japan.

Kim said...

The pics and news reports are pretty unbelievable....devastating and terrifying. It's hard as we watch to remember that real people are being affected. I read that 5 out of 6 LDS missions in Japan have reported that all missionaries are accounted for, but the mission closest to the epicenter has yet to report. If Tyler was on a mission there right now, I'd be a basket case!

LA said...

It's so scary. I spend all day yesterday just glued to BBC News 24, it was fascinating, yet petrifying at the same time.

What surprised me was how far reaching the alerts went. I'm pretty rubbish at geography, but I found it amazing that something that happened on the Japanese coast could affect somewhere as far away as the Oregon coast.

Prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected. :( x