Blasted

Despite the mist, this photo was actually taken in Noda last July.

















I took this photo yesterday. Bear in mind this is in a considerably improved state to how it had been 24 hours earlier.














A government helicopter landing on the playing field of my school in Noda 2 days ago, bringing supplies for the refugees sheltering there.








View from the bridge of the river in Noda yesterday; the snow had started falling an hour earlier for the first time since the earthquake.











A bar in Noda with the water immersion line visible, as it is on all the buildings that got hit - a gauge of suffering.
















The nuclear situation, dramatic as it is, is a distraction compared to this. We're over 200 miles away and from the less panicky online sources it seems clear that besides the immediate evacuation area there is a negligible threat to health. Half of Noda being smashed beyond repair is a lot more real. With Lee and Joseph took some magazines to the shelter yesterday to hopefully give some refugees a bit of distraction but anything I can do is peanuts; fortunately the government seems to be well on top of the situation there. Other ALTs and I have offered to put people up in our houses, but as there's still no petrol and we're all practically housebound, there doesn't seem to be much more we can do for the time being.