No reports of Irish calls for assistance

IRISH REACTION:THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs said the Irish Embassy in Tokyo had no reports as yet of any of an estimated 2,000 Irish people in Japan being injured or in need of assistance as a result of yesterday's earthquake.

Minister of State for Trade and Development Jan O’Sullivan said Ireland “stands ready to provide assistance if requested by Japan”.

The Embassy has been contacting Irish citizens who previously registered with it in areas most affected by the quake.

It said those with family and friends in Japan may contact the department in Dublin on 01-4180233. They can also leave details on the department’s website at dfa.ie.

One Irishman who is teaching in Yokohama about a half hour’s train journey south of Tokyo, yesterday described how children screamed and cried in his classroom as the tremors caused widespread damage.

James McCrory from Belfast, who is head of art and design at Yokohama International School, described the effects in Yokohama as huge. He said tremors lasted about four minutes as buildings rocked and furniture fell.

Children in the school sheltered with their teachers under tables. He said children were crying as objects crashed to the floor and some feared for their lives.

Mr McCrory said teachers and pupils had remained in school for several hours after the initial quake as all transport was suspended.

Telephone contact to affected cities in Japan was difficult yesterday as internal networks became jammed.

However, Mr McCrory was able to use e-mail to contact friends and family around the world to let them know he was all right.

In the inland city of Sapporo English teacher Brendan Ashe, originally from Tralee, said he and his family were safe and well and did not feel too fearful because of their inland location.

As the tsunami hit Hawaii yesterday researcher with the island’s Institute for Astronomy Jason Byrne, from Dublin, said some people were evacuated from low-lying housing.

Beaches in pre-determined “inundation zones” were closed. He said some people were panic buying non-perishable food, but warning sirens which operate on an hourly basis had ceased after a few hours. Water levels rose by just two to three feet he estimated.

In San Diego, southern California, Harry O’Halloran said early warnings of expected major damage from a tsunami had been downgraded to an advisory notice aimed at those on the seafront, beach users and those living in estuarine areas.

Mr O’Halloran, who lives a few streets from the beach with his wife and two children, said he no longer expected to have to evacuate. He said evacuation warnings were still in place in coastal and estuarine areas of Oregon and northern California last night.

In Dublin, Donagh Morris, chairman of the Ireland Japan Association, said he had been getting and sending business-related e-mails from Tokyo.

But he said telephone calls had been impossible. Mr Morris, who works as a relationship manager with the Irish office of Daiwa Securities, said a Japanese manager with the company in Dublin had made contact with his family and thankfully they were all safe and well.

Mr Morris said he had sent an e-mail to a friend in one of the worst-affected cities, Sendai, but had yet to hear a reply.

Irish Ambassador to Japan John Neary told RTÉ’s lunchtime news from Tokyo that he had been on his way to a meeting when the first earthquake struck just after a quarter to three yesterday afternoon.

“I was on my way to a meeting and it was clear from the vibrations that it was a more serious earthquake than we have had before. And it was clear very quickly after that it was a very serious one by Japan’s standards. People started to come out of buildings, so I returned to the Embassy.

“The people here, because they were on a higher floor, were more seriously affected and the building shook quite a bit and we suffered some minor damage,” he said.