Japanese Woman Says Earthquake Destruction 'Beyond Imagination'

When Deko Ruch saw her native country Japan suffer a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, she couldn't believe it.

"It was like watching a movie or something. It's unreal," Ruch said. "I lived in Tokyo until I was 27, and I did experience lots and lots of earthquakes. But that, that is beyond imagination."

She has lived in the United States for more than 20 years. Here she has raised her three daughters, with the youngest a senior at James Madison High School.

But Ruch still has family in Japan — her father lives in metropolitan Tokyo and her brother lives a few hours west of there — though they live hundreds of miles away from the epicenter.

But that doesn't mean they, especially her father, haven't felt the effects, with supplies as basic as toilet paper difficult to locate and trains running infrequently, causing minor inconveniences to daily life. Her father, Takashi Sasaki, immediately felt effects when he experienced a violent shake when the earthquake hit March 11.

"Luckily for him, he was only worried about his new TV falling down and breaking," Ruch said.

She knows others closer to the epicenter, which was off the coast of Honshu, weren't as lucky. Ruch has been watching the events unfold on live feeds from Japanese TV stations and says she can't even begin to grasp how serious the situation really is because it's tragic beyond imagination.

"This is a dire situation. I don't know any crisis like this, as far as I remember," Ruch said. "My mother's generation went through the second World War. I think it's almost equal to that level of crisis."

Ruch has already donated to helping with relief efforts. Though she is unhappy she can't be there to support her native country, she is proud to see Fairfax County rescuers are there to help.

Seventy-two members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team deployed to Japan on Friday and arrived Sunday.

"I feel represented. I'm sad I'm not there to be able to help out in person, but I feel that Fairfax County rescuers are doing it for me, if that makes sense," she said.

With nuclear reactors threatening another disaster in Japan, Ruch is not sure what to expect. But she remains hopeful.

"They have scholars and technicians and engineers and all these people are there and making extreme efforts 24/7," Ruch said. "The thing is this was an extraordinary, unprecedented event in terms of the strength of the earthquake and the disaster from the tsunami. It's just beyond anybody's imagination. Nobody could prepare for this, and considering that, they are doing a wonderful, amazing job."

For ideas on how you can help out with relief efforts, click here.