JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Japanese Association of Jacksonville (JAJ) reacted to the double tragedy that unfolded in Japan.
A Japanese airline burst into flames after crashing into a Coast Guard plane while landing at an airport in Tokyo. Japan Airlines said air traffic control cleared its crew to land before the Airbus A350 collided with a Coast Guard plane, killing five people. Everyone on board the Airbus survived, despite the plane catching on fire.
The incident came one day after a deadly 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked the west coast of Japan, killing more than 50 people.
RELATED: Powerful earthquakes leave at least 57 dead, destroy buildings along Japan’s western coast
JAJ president Kie Young said it’s not every day that news cycles across the world are dominated by back-to-back tragedies in Japan. These are tragedies that hit too close to home for her.
New Year’s Day morning in Northeast Florida was anything but celebratory for Young. She said her phone was blowing up with messages from people she knows who were in western Japan when the earthquake erupted.
“My mom and myself are safe. We had to evacuate, but we are back home,” Young said when talking about one of the messages she received from a friend.
Young said the son of one of her friends is stuck in the area where the earthquake caused the most damage. She said he and many others are now left with just the clothes on their backs.
“The food and water even when they go to convenience stores, nothing is there,” Young said.
Young was born and raised in Japan. She moved to the United States after she turned 18 years old. She said earthquake drills are common practices in Japanese schools because earthquakes can strike in that region at any given time and place.
Young said she got used to the shaking.
“When you just feel the weak ones, for a couple of minutes then you say okay that was it. And the TV will say level 1 or level 2,” Young said.
This incident also hits close to home for Young because she used to be a flight attendant after moving to the United States.
“I don’t know how the flight attendant evacuated all those people, close to 400 people: out of that airline. Smoke and fire everywhere. It’s a miracle,” Young said.
JAJ said it plans to help raise money for the earthquake victims through two of its annual events.
Find out more about those events by going to JAJ’s website and Facebook Page: Japanese Association of Jacksonville Facebook Page