Md. Mom Awaits Safe Return Of Daughter Studying Abroad In Japan
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ)— There are new reports of smoke rising from the nuclear reactor. It's just the latest alarming development as emergency workers try to stop a nuclear nightmare in Japan.
Andrea Fujii reports on the frightening ordeal for a Maryland college student trying to get home after the disaster.
Danielle Jacob, a junior at Towson University, has been studying abroad in Japan since August. Now she's among the thousands trying to get out.
The study abroad program has canceled the rest of the semester.
Her mother--who lives in Columbia-- is waiting, hoping the long journey through crowded streets and airports is safe.
"Everybody is trying to get out and that's a problem because, according to Danielle, the roads in Japan really aren't that big. They're not like the United States," said her mother Cynthia Jacob.
"She was saying that she saw a train that was stopped that was half over water, half over land," Cynthia Jacob added. "She said there's no food on the shelves. Normally the shelves would be packed with food."
Maryland native Oliver Jones, 33, survived the earthquake while at customs in the airport. His parents tell us he is now back home.
Cynthia Jacob is anxious to say the same about Danielle.
"The closer it gets, it seems like I'm getting more worried. I'll just be happy when she's at the airport," she said.
By the time Danielle does arrive in Maryland, it would have been a two-day journey to get out of harm's way.
