Tulsan Living In Japan Describes Earthquake Experience

NewsOn6.com

TOKYO, JAPAN -- A Tulsa native living in Japan spoke with the Six in the Morning following Thursday's deadly earthquake and tsunami.

Brian Peterson, 34, is a Bishop Kelley graduate who has lived in Tokyo for seven years with his wife and daughter, Zoe.

Peterson said he was working in his office when the quake hit, and he quickly realized it was not like the earthquakes he had experienced before.

3/11/2011 Related Story: Hundreds Killed In Tsunami After 8.9 Japan Quake

"The street was clear but you couldn't put one foot in front of the other because of the sense of rocking, in fact I thought it must be something beyond an earthquake," he said.

Peterson works as a photographer in Japan after marrying a Tokyo native. He said the city was pretty fortunate to escape the worst of the quake, although some historical buildings suffered damage.

Brian's mom, Lynn Peterson, just returned from a visit to see her son.

"His electricity is back on and he was able to get on Skype so we've been Skyping back and forth all morning," she said.

Other Tulsans are waiting for word from folks in a sister city.

Becky Collins has been trying to contact anyone in Utsunomiya, Tulsa's sister city since 1992.

It is reported to have very heavy damage.

"I'm trying to think in my mind, what Tulsa would be like if we had an earthquake that destroyed almost every structure in town," she said. "I'm trying to think what they will need, and there will be a lot of things, so in addition to our thoughts, we might be thinking what we can do to assist them."

3/11/2011 Related Story: How You Can Help Earthquake Victims In Japan