I am heartbroken each time I watch video of the tsunami that decimated the coastal cities in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures. The people had essentially no warning… less than 10 minutes from the earthquake to the tsunami hitting the coastline. Although there were foreshocks a couple of days before, you don’t know they are foreshocks until the bigger quake hits. Unfortunately, it’s normal to have quakes of 5-6 magnitude in that region. It’s one of the most active areas in the “Ring of Fire.” Having lived in Yokota AFB for 5 years, it was almost desensitizing… almost. But we were trained: if you’re indoors, stay away from brick and glass, and get under a table. If your outside, get away from buildings. We were constantly reminded why we had all those drills.

When the Nisqually earthquake hit our area, I knew in less than a second what was happening. Today, I start thinking of the recent earthquakes: New Zealand, Chile, and China. The Pacific Northwest is supposed to have ours. If Nisqually wasn’t our “big one,” then all we can do is learn from what we see and prepare ourselves.