The sole University student studying in Japan is safe after a massive quake and subsequent tsunami hit the country Friday.
The student studying in Tokyo didn’t respond to interview requests from The Daily Reveille, but University Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Kristine Calongne confirmed she was safe.
University faculty with ties to the country watched in horror as the images of the disaster flooded in.
“After I saw the tsunami scene I was very depressed,” said Yoshinori Kamo, sociology associate professor. Kamo grew up in Tokyo and lives there during the summer. His family members remain in Tokyo but are safe, he said.
“Tokyo is at a stand-still,” Kamo said. “There is a shortage of food and essentials, and they have rolling blackouts, but they are OK.”
Sociology instructor Makiko Hori arrived in Baton Rouge from Japan on Sunday.
Hori was in the southern part of Japan and didn’t feel the quake.
“It was really depressing,” Hori said. “All the TV channels are reporting it constantly.”
All of Hori’s family lives in the southern part of the country, safe from the tsunami and quake’s wrath, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling empathy for the country.
“It is so hopeless. … Many small towns are completely destroyed,” Hori said. “There are thousands dead. There is no good news.”
Kamo, who has been in the United States since his 20s, said the images of Japan conjure up memories of New Orleans from 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck.
“The scene looks very similar to Katrina: water covering everything, rubble everywhere, people on rooftops, S.O.S. being painted on buildings, body bags, military people everywhere,” Kamo said.
Kamo said Tokyo will be similar to Baton Rouge after Katrina by providing a staging ground for rebuilding and taking in those who now have no home.
Kamo said his primary source for news about the tragedy has been Twitter.
“Twitter has helped me more than anything,” Kamo said, “though it is a double-edged sword.”
Kamo has seen another similarity with Katrina in “useless” rumors that have begun to spread through social media.
“People are so uneasy now, so they believe everything,” Kamo said.
The University has reached out to the seven Japanese students studying at the University, Calongne said.
As of Saturday, one faculty member with family in Japan had not been able to contact her family. The faculty member has been unavailable for comment since.
 
Staff writer Sydni Dunn contributed to this report.
 
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