My thoughts

I was sad to hear about the earthquake in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan yesterday.  I lived in Niigata for three years, and I have been to that town. 

I am reminded of the earthquake that I experienced there in 2004.  I was fortunate enough to be living in an area that was not affected greatly, however, there were effects.  I happened to be on a train, I was coming from an area that was the epicenter of the quake, luckily I was almost back to Niigata by the time the earthquake occurred.  The areas around the epicenter, particularly the small towns near the city of Nagaoka, suffered massive damage.  The typhoons that we had experienced prior to the earthquake left the soil so damp that there were landslides in the areas affected.  This made it difficult to rescue people and get them much needed supplies.   The highways and train lines took a long time to repair, which made going to Tokyo quite an adventure. 

My thoughts are with the people in Niigata, and I hope that they are safe and well.