Eriko's family is safe...
I've received many inquiries about Eriko's family - from far and wide. Old friends, distant family, and far away co-workers - some of whom I haven't talked with in years - reached out to make sure that Eriko and her family were doing well.
The good news is that Eriko's immediate family is in Nagoya and most of her relatives and friends are in Nagoya. Nagoya was not impacted much by the quake/tsunami nor is it near the reactors.
The bad news is she does have relatives that are closer to Tokyo. All are safe, but some did have some fairly significant damage to their homes and/or businesses. Her Aunt and Uncle are still without running water, even though we're ten days from the onset of the tremors. They also don't have any natural gas, but that is of little consequence to them in particular. Amazingly, a neighbor in the area has well water and is supplying neighbors who don't. Her Aunt and Uncle cannot function in their jobs (as a dentist and researcher) either due to lack of water/electricity or because of damage to instruments - so what do they do? They volunteer their time for those who are in shelters.
These are some very strong people.