La Quinta Family Evacuated From Quake-Ravaged Japan

A La Quinta mother returned to the Coachella Valley on Thursday after being evacuated from a U.S. Naval Base in Japan.

Linsey Todd was living with her kids in Yokosura when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck.

Her husband is serving on the U.S.S. George Washington just off the coast of Japan.

Braidy Todd, 6, was the first to greet his grandmother, Deanna Todd, who waited patiently at Palm Springs International Airport for her family to arrive.

“We’re just very very thankful that I got my family back,” said Deanna Todd, who has been worried sick about her daughter and family since Japan was rocked by the earthquake and drowned by a tsunami.

“I was talking to some other ladies around and I just literally felt everything circling around me,” said Lindsey Todd, who lived 200 miles away from the epicenter of the quake.

Lindsey was on a playground with her son and daughter, Brytany Todd, 9, that day.

She saw buildings sway and people looking for cover, and so did Braidy.

“It was scary,” he said. “I was playing soccer, then we all stopped and they said it’s an earthquake.”

She and the kids quickly ran to an open field, but after 45 minutes of constant aftershocks, sirens went off, warning of a tsunami.

They live on the eighth floor of their tower and ran up to their home.

“So, immediately, we went up to our house, I turned on the news and exactly at the moment, we saw the tsunami hit up in northern Japan,” said Lindsey.

Her husband, aviation technician first class Jeremy Todd, was in San Diego at the time, earning a certificate with the Navy in career counseling.

He was alseep when his mother in-law called him, explaining the devastation.

He got a hold of his family in Japan via Skype and learned that they were OK.

Soon after, he set sail on the U.S.S. George Washington to Japan on a humanitarian aid mission.

His family was evacuated from the island.

“President Obama initiated and activated the voluntary departure. so, we went ahead and took part of that,” said Lindsey. “My husband went out to sea. He felt more comfortable of us being here, being safe with family while he goes and completes his mission.”

The Todd family was far from the nuclear reactors in risk of meltdown and only feared that radiation particles in the plums of smoke would reach Yokosuska.

They were given iodine pills as a precaution but haven’t had to take them.

After a 15-hour flight with a stop in Dallas, the Todd family is back home, while dad serves his country overseas.

“It’s extremely overwhelming just to see family and know that we’re safe,” said Lindsey. “This is home. It’s just difficult, (because) we don’t know if we’ll return (to Japan).”