No Word Yet From Nishiwaki, Renton's Sister City

Although the Seattle-area saw minimal effects of the tsunami that resulted from Thursday's 8.9 earthquake in Japan, city officials are scrambling to contact their sister cities from afar.

The City of Renton has not yet heard back from officials in its sister city, Nishiwaki.

"We're expressing our condolences," said Renton Communications Director Preeti Shridhar.

Nishiwaki is located away from the coastline, she said. As of Friday afternoon, Nishiwaki officials have yet to respond to an email sent early this morning, Shridhar said, adding that the lack of response could be due to the time difference. The sister city tie between Renton and Nishiwaki began in 1969.

"It is the weekend over there," she said.

According to the Regional Public Information Network, the widespread damage is not expected to reach the Puget Sound. Shortly after the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center sent out an alert to the entire U.S. West Coast. At 8:45 this morning, the Center recorded a small, 4.5-inch wave on the Seattle-area coastline. Further down the coast, in Half Moon Bay, Calif., coastal residents saw followed by .

Just after 3:30 p.m. today, tsunami warnings for Los Angeles County were reduced to an advisory. The warning stretched from Point Concepcion, in central California, to the Oregon-Washington border. The quake's epicenter was about 240 miles northeast of Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said, The Associated Press reported.

The next meeting for the Renton-Nishiwaki Sister City Committee is on Wednesday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Conference Room #720, located on the 7th floor of . Email Sonja Mejlaender or call 425.430.6514 for more informationt about the Renton-Nishiwaki Sister City Committee.

HELP ONLINE:

Google has launched a person finder for people trying to track down friends and family affected by the quake. Currently about 7,200 records are being tracked.

The American Red Cross advises that people who are looking for U.S. citizens living or traveling in Japan should call the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747 or 202 647-5225.

Organizations have started to mobilize to send aid to Japan and other countries affected by the quake the tsunamis that followed.

The American Red Cross has started to help in Japan, and set up feeding stations for people along theOregon coast who were evacuated because of the tsunami threat. Click here for information on how to donate. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Japanese Red Cross has not yet requested help, though Red Cross workers in the Philippines and Indonesia are assisting with the tsunami alert.

GlobalGiving.org says that it is collecting money to disburse to organizations that are providing direct help to people in Japan, including International Medical Corps and Save the Children.

Salvation Army is also collecting funds via text, online, by mail, or through the phone. 

For more local coverage about the tsunami, check out the and Patch sites.