I'm okay

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Just thought I'd check in to let those of you who check the blog know that I am okay. The earthquake was awful and terrifying but the building I was in was not damaged and no one was injured. It lasted for at least two minutes which felt like an eternity. It started off small and I wasn't too worried as we had had a number of small earthquakes in previous days but it got bigger and bigger and seemed to go on forever. Afterwards it felt like we were on a boat with lots of little quakes. My nerves are a bit shot from the little quakes but generally I am doing fine.

Yesterday my friend and I spent the day going to all the supermarkets trying to gather up enough food and water. Some things are completely sold out; water, bread, milk, eggs and instant noodles. You really see what is popular at the supermarket! The lines were crazy and the roads are in a grid lock as everyone is trying to get petrol at the stations. All are now closed and we have run out of petrol.

We are 100km north of Fukushima so are keeping an eye on news about the Fukushima power plant in case we need to evacuate. We have bags ready to go and are pretty prepared. I see a few friends have posted on Facebook that there are expected aftershocks of magnitude seven in the next three days so it's a bit scary. There will also be organised power outages so I may be out of contact.

I have received so much love and support via Facebook, Skype, email and phone which I do really appreciate. In times like this I feel really homesick. I want to be home with my family, my boyfriend and friends but unfortunately that is not an option right now. I am counting my blessings and feel so incredibly lucky as devastation and lives lost around the country is simply horrific. We are only two hours away from Sendai where things look really bad. The footage is heartbreaking and I can't stop thinking about how hard it must be for people in the prefecture. I really want to do something to help but we have been told the best thing to do right now is to stay put and be prepared.

I am feeling so grateful to be completely okay, uninjured and safe and want to thank all of you who have contacted me with messages of support. I really do appreciate it and feel less alone in a time when all of this is happening.  For those of you in Japan, please stay safe!

Gemma

xx