Tokyo-based Navan man tells of nuclear fears after earthquake devastation

A Navan native living in Japan spoke this week of the growing threat of nuclear radiation following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which has caused thousands of deaths in Japan. Victor Gorman, originally from Clusker Park, his wife, Takano, and three children, survived the massive 'quake that rocked the country last Friday and which sent a giant tidal wave crashing into the north-east of the country. Now, however, their biggest concern is the threat from nuclear radiation following the admission by the Japanese authorities that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant had reached harmful levels, although they have since fallen. Victor, a son of former Navan councillor, Christy Gorman and his wife, Margaret, described this week the moment the devastating earthquake hit Japan. Although 350km from the epicentre, he felt the violent tremors which rocked the country, although nobody in the vicinity was injured and buildings remained intact. Living and working in Tamo, a suburban area of Tokyo, Victor and his family escaped injury from the 'quake and the devastating tsunami that claimed so many lives, but like many others in the city, he is concerned about the nuclear threat. "We have been told it is alright at the moment, but we just need to take precautions," he said this week from his home in Tokyo. "We have to cover up if we go out, shower when we come back, we cannot use air conditioning and have to block up air vents," he explained. "We are keeping an eye on the situation at the moment. We are worried about the effect of more aftershocks on the nuclear situation. All we can do is follow the news and try not to panic," he said, Victor, who has lived in Japan for 12 years, and his wife, were working at their own language school when the earthquake struck last Friday. "The ground starting moving and we stood around for a few minutes until we realised it was getting worse and we went outside," he recalled. "The lights went out, the phone went dead and the traffic lights went off. There were wires hanging down, but no buildings collapsed," he added. "The loss of the phones and power was terrible as we couldn't contact our children. Our daughter, Leia, was at home because she was sick and managed to contact us by wi-fi through her iPhone and we picked up our boys from school." He explained that the Japanese are well-prepared for earthquakes but they hadn't been prepared for the tsunami that followed. "People are panicking. The shops are empty and you cannot get petrol, bread or milk. We are alright. We stocked up, too, but we didn't do as much panic buying as others," he said. Takano is a native of Japan, but her family also live a considerable distance from the areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. One of the biggest fears is that further violent aftershocks are still to come and Victor and Takano are taking it in turns to sleep so that they will be able to get out if a bad tremor hits. "All we can do now is keep an eye on the situation," he said. Victor's parents had an anxious time when they heard about the devastation in Japan last Friday. "Phone lines and communications were down and we couldn't find out anything for about 24 hours, but Victor eventually managed to get an email through to us to reassure us," said his father, Christy. "It was a very anxious time, but we were all relieved to heard from him. Our biggest concern at the moment is that the earthquake is continuing," he said.