Updated: Former Northern Nevada resident, Galena grad describes devastating earthquake

Former Northern Nevada resident Alyson Meidell Jenkins reports that she and her family are safe but shaken after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan's eastern coast, causing a devastating tsunami that killed at least 10,000 and widespread damage.

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Japan's advanced earthquake early-warning system, with more than 1,000 seismographs scattered over the country alerted the public of an imminent earthquake via television, Internet and text-messages. At 2:46 local time, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake arrived, the largest that Japan has seen in one hundred years, just off the eastern coast of Sendai, Honshu.

Jenkins, 33, a 1996 Galena High School graduate whose parents live in Reno, is living in Roppongi, Tokyo with her husband David and two young boys.

She gave this eyewitness account after the initial 9.0 major quake:

"The earthquakes here aren't like those in California where your chair shakes beneath your seat. The earthquakes here move sideways. I was at a neighborhood park with my children when we all noticed the trees and some smaller homes shaking so violently. These were small one story homes and you could see the glass panes reverberating and sliding back and forth."

Though the quake triggered a large tsunami, Tokyo was
spared from the ocean's fury.

"There isn't any flooding where I am at. The cement stairwell in our 11 story apartment building is cracked. At the park everyone grabbed their children and tried to ride it out. But panic set in when after almost 10 minutes it wasn't stopping. The severe tremors slowed, the children started playing again and then came another quake."

"That was a scary rollercoaster ride," she reported on her Facebook page. "We are at the park. Everyone is grabbing their kids and sitting on the ground. I didn't know an earthquake could last almost 10 minutes."

Now even though there continue to be aftershocks, Jenkins said that people are still on the street.

"Everyone is outside standing on the street outside where they work or live. If you can, some have even started walking home as all transportation has stalled. My friend's husband has been walking for an hour and a half, but still has a ways to go before he gets home."

Updates from the next day:

"Our building hasn't stopped moving for 24 hours. Getting our feet on solid ground today was essential to end the nausea. What we found was a ghost town, with almost everything closed and the streets pretty much empty. Thankfully our son had basketball. Talking with other families, we found comfort in relating our experiences of where we were at, what we were doing and how we dealt with the panic around us. I heard friends who were stuck sleeping with hundreds of people in a train station or a mall or walking through till morning to arrive home. One common strand is that we all had the internet and we had facebook. One friend told me she was able to find a place to stay after posting her plight on facebook. A family she hardly knew offered to take her in as they were stranded far outside the city. We found common comfort that the convenient store shelves are being restocked. One concerning fact that gives me pause is that I have heard that many expats have left the country today. With the looming possibility of blackouts tonight, the building at the nuclear reactor exploding at 3 p.m. today and the Japanese reporting that there will be another earthquake soon, we are feeling the tension and anxiety level rise."

"This was a really awful day. The major mode of transportation here has been shut down. The trains aren't running. People are stranded around the city, parents and children cannot connect. Some children are stranded at school. Everyone is trying to get home, even if that means walking. Thankfully, we still have internet and email, as the phone lines haven't been working for hours. I have many friends who are stranded both inside and outside the city, separated from their families right now."

"We are okay. There are still aftershocks, little tremors that seem to have slowed to under 3 per hour. It seems like our building has been in motion, swaying for hours. My boys just finally fell asleep after a lot of consoling."

"I just read that people at Tokyo Disney are alright. The tsunami flooded the parking lot, so no one can drive home. Sadly with the train shut down, all those people are stranded. Luckily, I am sure they have enough hotel space and food for all those people."