Pumps struggled.

Some communications equipment failed.

Residents tried to charge phones from vehicles and portable batteries.

But mobile networks were overloaded.

Thousands of people were trying to contact relatives simultaneously.

Messages remained unsent.

Calls failed.

Some phones showed no signal.

That created a second kind of panic.

People weren’t only afraid of the disaster.

They were afraid for the people they couldn’t reach.

The Search for Missing Family Members

At one evacuation center, a woman named Keiko stood near the entrance holding her phone.

She had been trying to contact her husband for more than an hour.

He had been at work near the waterfront when the earthquake struck.

The last message she received said:

“I’m okay. We’re evacuating.”

Then nothing.

Keiko tried calling.

No answer.

Again.

Nothing.

She walked from one side of the shelter to the other.

Every time someone entered, she looked up.

Every time a phone rang, she hoped it was him.