Hundreds have lost their lives in Japan after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck and residents in Connecticut are using social media to reach friends and family affected by the natural disasters.
Hirofumi Saito, who attended University of Hartford, is in Japan. The phones are out, so his means of communication are Facebook and Skype.
Through Facebook, he connected with his former roommate, Bill Stronge, of Monroe, and said the tsunami in the Miyagi area was bad. The shaking in Tokyo was frightening.
The earthquake was an 8.9 magnitude, followed by a 13-foot tsunami.
Between 200 and 300 bodies have been found in the northeastern coastal area, MSNBC reports. The effect in Hawaii is a tsunami with surges reaching 6 feet, MSNBC reports, and now the waves have reach the northwest coast of the United States.
Some residents have connected with NBC Connecticut on Facebook to share stories of how their family and friends are doing.
Linda Lee, of Connecticut, was in contact with a friend in Japan, who said they have no power and evacuations are underway because the nuclear power plant cooling system failed at the facility northeast of Tokyo.
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Lee also has a friend staying at a hotel in Hawaii who has been moved to a higher part of the building.
Jennifer Hanson’s brother is in the Navy and lives in Japan. He was at home at the time and OK, but they felt the shaking.
Google has created a People Finder with a translation to find loved ones in Japan.
