it's 1 am and I can't sleep.

Today Japan was hit by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake, making it the most powerful ever recorded, triggering a massive tsunami in north-east of Japan.

It was 2 pm-ish, and I was at home when I read my friend's tweets - all about their house being shaken, and things scattering all around. That wasn't weird - Japan is used to occasional minor quakes, but later I was concerned when they said 'TV fell off the rack, walls are broken'.

That was weird. And apparently it is - the strongest earthquake they've ever felt in these 4 years.

Thank God for Twitter and Facebook, friends keep updating their statuses to inform families and relatives about them and their friends, which even came in handy for the embassy to gather information cause electricity and any sort of communication with the affected areas went dead. Tried calling my friends in Iwate and Sendai but couldn't get through.


Affected areas - Sendai, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tokyo.


Apparently the tsunami hit northern parts of Japan, so the southern parts (Kansai, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka) are safe, for now. Some say it might get here soon, but no red alerts have been given yet, so it's still safe I think.

I can't be more thankful for being in this part of Japan, but more sad with other friends' condition. Some friends even have their families here right now for holiday, and stuck in Tokyo. Imagine how their families must feel.

Texted my mum later in the evening, and sister called. Got some messages on Twitter and Facebook - thank you so much for your prayers, really appreciate them. Am praying for my friends in the affected areas, hopefully things will get better soon :/

You can go to Syikin's and Diloz's blogs for more updates.