Today was like every other day, until 2:30pm. At that time a nearby "
onsen" or natural hot spring spa exploded. No foul play was involved. Experts think that somehow natural gas got into the water source line and became combustible. People described the sound as that of a loud thunder clap. The
explosion occurred in the building that employees use to change their clothing. The building was decimated. Three women were pronounced dead and several other injured. I picked Mia up from school at 3pm and we came home to see ambulances lining our street. It was surreal. We of course walk by this spa daily. My friend
Miyuki & I meet in front of this spa regularly as it is equidistant to our homes. I was hoping to go there soon for a soak.
Our street was barricaded for rescue workers only. This is an example of the concrete that became airborne and landed in our driveway. We had no apparent damage to our house. Closer homes had shattered windows from the debris.
I took this shot from the local news channel covering the incident. You can see the building that exploded. I (along with Rhett & Mia) was actually interviewed by a local news station. I wasn't able to find footage of the interview.
Here's brief coverage of this news story in English:
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070619p2a00m0na023000c.html
3 comments:
Hope " natural gas getting into the water line" isn't too common an occurence. Those pieces of concrete in front of your doorway are huge. VERY glad you're all safe.
Everyone who says Japan is a safe country clearly has not taken into account the exploding spas.
Thank goodness you're all safe and sound.
WOW! I heard this on the news yesterday morning (Tuesday in the US) and wondered "what are the odds that that's near T and A?" I was shocked to find out later that it was right near you. EEKS! Don't worry, tho-we're still coming!
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