Earthquake Diary 67

Today I would like to suggest that you take a look at a website that will give you some sense of what we have been going through here. The site shows a map of Japan on which each of the earthquakes is plotted, size proportional to magnitude and color representing depth. Each day takes just over a minute, but you can set the range, Also, if you check the box for "Sticky Dots" the cumulative effect will become clear. The address is http://www.japanquakemap.com/.

Yesterday I took a long walk, 8 kilometers directly to the east of my home. I did not get as far as the tsunami effected zone, but I reached an area with extensive damage. Eventually I will post the pictures I took and discuss what I saw in detail.

Also I received a phone call and additional information from Tohoku Gakuin University where I will teach three classes a week. They have rescheduled the first semester in the same way as my other university - 13 weeks with no make classes or final exam days from May 9 to August 9. The Izumi Campus where I teach on Tuesdays was badly damage, but they think that most of the campus will be usable.

The nuclear reactor problem seems to be getting worse. The government raised the level to 7, the highest level. We are not particularly worried about it. We are far enough away that even if it explodes we will not get too much radiation. Additionally the prevailing winds are from here toward the reactors.  Also we are old enough that any increase in the possibility of getting future cancers is not a question. We are, however, a bit concerned about our grandkids, but they have places to go in west Japan to get away if they need to.