Japan Meltdown
A race to cover the tsunami, earthquake, and reactor.
“I’m going to get a call.”
“You are?”
“Look at the TV.”
It was late in the evening, after a fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. My wife Tamera and I had joined some friends for a nightcap at the bar after the event when I glanced to my left, and I saw a flash on the screen above the bar. It was about 11:45 PM, or it seemed that late, when I saw a video of a wall of water.
Tearing from the ocean across the land, the massive wave of water swept everything in its path. Buildings tumbled like blocks, and cars were tossed like toys in a bathtub. I took a couple of steps closer to watch that first video coming from Japan, since the bar TV’s sound was off. Few people paid attention. The TV was an afterthought.
Across the bottom of the screen, the words…earthquake…tsunami…and Japan. The warning quickly stretched across the Pacific to the shores of California, Oregon, and Washington. I turned back to Tamera and said, “Are you OK if I go to Japan? I’ll likely have to leave asap.”
No sooner had she replied yes, my phone rang. Sure enough, I was on my way.
“Are you available?”
“Yep”
“We are going to book you the first flight we find. Barnes and a producer are going with you.”
“On my way. I’ll be home and ready to go in an hour.”
Like every breaking news story, we raced back to the house; I packed a bag and was on my way to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) as soon as I could. The first flight out was very early in the morning, and ultimately, we were the only ones to take off for Tokyo from the United States. Later, we’d learn the reason we were the only plane to take off and eventually land in Japan was that the entire crew and the captain were based in Tokyo at JAL, and the Captain was a higher-up that JAL needed to help with the fleet and needed him home. All other flights from the U.S. to Japan had been grounded, but ours.
