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Broomfield residents getting stories from quake-stricken JapanMar 16, 2011 (Broomfield Enterprise - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- As the death toll rises and heartbreaking stories continue pouring out of Japan in the wake of last week's earthquake and ensuing tsunami, friends of Broomfield's Sister Cities Program on the ground in Tokyo are reporting on the country's plight back to friends in Colorado. Yoichi "Yo" Usui and Nanami Komiyama have both participated in Broomfield's Sister Cities partnership with the community of Ueda, Japan, since the program's inception 10 years ago. The Sister Cities Program sends youth delegations from each city to the sister city in alternating years to live with a host family and immerse themselves in the culture for 10 to 12 days. Usui and Komiyama have both been in Tokyo since a record 9.0-magnitude earthquake shook the city and the surrounding areas Friday morning. They have used what little Internet connectivity they have been able to muster, hampered by large scale black-outs magnified by the ongoing nuclear power plant crisis, to report on developments in the country to their Sister City friends. Usui, a Japanese native, is president and CEO of Westminster-based Cross Cultural Business Inc., and makes his home in Westminster. He volunteered as a translator for the first Ueda (then called Maruko) delegation visiting Broomfield in 2001, and has helped prepare Broomfield delegations to visit Ueda. Usui was flying into Tokyo for a business trip Friday when the earthquake struck. His flight was diverted to Yokota Air Base, a U.S. Air Force base, and eventually to the Osaka, Kansai airport 350 miles west of Tokyo. He and his fellow passengers were forced to find their own accommodations and make their own travel arrangements to their final destinations. Usui made it to Tokyo Saturday morning and, using a personal hot-spot WiFi router, sent an update message to concerned friends in the United States, including Sister Cities officials Greg Stokes and Karen Gerrity. "Tokyo area had minimal impact ... but the commuting public were stranded in the city on Friday night due to complete shutdown of the public transportation system and road closures," the e-mail read in part. "People slept on station floors, office buildings and whatever they can find." "The supermarket and convenience store shelves are basically empty of fresh food, bags of rice, bread, bottled drinks, daily essentials, batteries, candles and other stuff that we take for granted every day," Usui said in a second e-mail Tuesday. Usui, who is scheduled to be in Tokyo for three weeks, has been using his company Web site to post a blog, complete with photos, on the disaster relief efforts in the Tokyo. He said the tragedy offers an opportunity for Sister Cities participants to demonstrate the strength of the program. "By extending our sympathy and offer to help, this will be a way to strengthen our ties," Usui said via e-mail. Komiyama is a Ueda native studying at Temple University's Tokyo campus. The 21-year-old's family has hosted a Broomfield delegate each year Broomfield has visited Ueda, and Komiyama has been a delegate and a chaperone in Broomfield, according to Gerrity, Broomfield Cultural Affairs manager. Komiyama was able to contact friends in the United States, including her 2008 host sister and Broomfield native Amanda Fendrick, on Sunday. Komiyama, who lives with her brother and sister in a Tokyo apartment, said they were temporarily stranded by the downed train system over the weekend, but were able to return to Ueda on Monday. She said she and her brother were forced to collect emergency water in costume boxes, because buckets have all been sold out in local stores. She said Ueda has not been severely affected by the disaster, but people continue buying materials to send to their family members in the quake zone. "Ueda has very normal life. However, many grandparents or parents goes to shop to buy batter(ies) to send these for their children who live in Tokyo," Komiyama said via e-mail Monday. "Still now, we have fear about aftershocks. We have to worry about a nuclear accident, too." To see more of the Broomfield Enterprise or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Broomfield Enterprise, Colo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |