As the death toll continues to climb in the aftermath of Japan’s largest earthquake in recorded history, a Dundee man has spoken of the terrifying moment the disaster struck.
Primary school teacher Lawrie Macpherson (23), originally from Menzieshill but who has lived in the Far East since August, told The Courier he was lucky to have escaped the worst of the devastation.
The Dundee University graduate added that the atmosphere remains tense as strong aftershocks continue to strike fear into the hearts of local people.
The English teacher, who lives in a small town near Akita City in the north-west of the country and around 120 miles away from one of the worst-hit cities, Sendai, was in a school staff room at around 2.45pm on Friday when the building began to violently shake.
He took cover under a desk before hearing the screams of primary children.
“I initially thought it was an aftershock from a previous 7.2 magnitude earthquake which struck on Wednesday,” Mr Macpherson told The Courier.
“However, after 30 seconds or so I began to realise this was much worse it lasted around two minutes and was fairly strong, like being in a boat on choppy water.
“The power went out midway through the quake and didn’t come back until Saturday night. The children were gathered in the main hall and collected by their parents over the next couple of hours.”
The massive earthquake, with a magnitude of 9, was reportedly powerful enough to move the world’s axis by 25cms.
The seismic event triggered a tsunami which hit the country’s north-east coastline, devastating everything in its path.’Terrible destruction’Mr Macpherson said, “Friday night was rather surreal as I drove around the area with traffic lights not working and shops open, but in complete darkness due to the power blackout.
“Many people have been panic buying and the shelves are empty of food and petrol is now being rationed. I spent most of Saturday trying to keep warm, as my house had no power or hot water.
“I had no contact with the outside world so I had little idea of what events were unfolding, other than that something very bad had happened.”
He added, “The power returned on Saturday night and I was shocked to see the extent of the damage in areas relatively close to me.
“Many friends and family had sent me emails during the power blackout, so assuring them that I was safe was a main priority.”
Mr Macpherson said, “The scenes from the nuclear plant in Fukushima are also a big cause of concern.
“However people are trying to return to normal and in this area went to work as usual on Monday morning.
“I don’t consider the last few days to have been an ordeal for me personally, as my area much nearer the west coast has not been badly affected.
“Other than a shortage of food and fuel there is little sign of what has happened. It is horrible to see these events Japan is fairly well prepared for earthquakes but the tsunami has caused terrible destruction.”
He added, “I knew upon coming to Japan that earthquakes are a regular occurrence but I didn’t expect to witness such a massive natural disaster less than a couple of hundred miles away.”
Mr Macpherson said he plans to continue his work which he is contracted to until August next year unless there is an emergency evacuation.