Palo Alto High School students and staff face difficulty contacting family and friends in Japan after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the country on Thursday, Pacific Standard Time.

Telephone lines have been overcrowded, disabling students from reaching relatives in Japan.

“It [contacting family] was not easy at all,” senior Hiroki Baba said. “My sister tried to contact them [my family] but it didn’t work, and we tried to contact them like 30 minutes later, but it still didn’t work so we just checked [on their condition] through e-mail and talked through e-mail.”

Because of the crowded phone lines, the best way to contact family and friends may be through e-mail, Baba said.

“I e-mailed my aunt this morning, and I think I’m going to call them,” senior Saki Sanda said. However, Sanda was later unable to reach her family in Japan through the phone.

Families in Southern Japan seem relatively unaffected, while those in Northern Japan have felt the earthquakes and tsunami, according to students with family in Japan.

“My family lives in Southern Japan,” Japanese teacher Teruko Kamikihara said. “I do not think any of my acquaintances have been affected, but I still haven’t called them.” Kamikihara later tried calling her family, but was unable to connect through the phone lines and instead opted for communication through e-mail.

Though they have not needed to evacuate their home in Saitama-ken, Saitama-shi, Baba’s family members are preparing for the worst.

“They don’t have any power right now and no water too,” Baba said. “They made onigiri [rice balls], and they have preset water.”

The Paly administration has not implemented a formal policy in response to the earthquake and tsunami, according to receptionist Jenny Stone and Assistant Principal Kathie Laurence. Stone added that, as of this afternoon, no students have come forth reporting negative consequences or requesting counseling services as a direct result of the disaster.

Guidance counselor Mona Siegel and Principal Phil Winston echoed Stone’s words and said that they have not been approached by students about the incident.