Puyallup family raising funds to help loved ones who lost home in Japan's New Year's Day quake

PUYALLUP, Wash. - A family from Puyallup is raising money for loved ones impacted by the destructive New Year's Day earthquake in Japan.

The Kaga family is from a rural part of Japan that's currently cut off from larger cities due to damaged roads and infrastructure.

Rie and Trey Manning say a massive earthquake forced her parents, Takashi and Takemi Kaga, to flee their long-time family home and business.

"They left with just the clothes on their backs, left barefoot and got to the evacuation center," said Trey Manning, Rie's husband.   

"Right now, the roads are all damaged. Nobody can come in, nobody can go out, so everybody’s stuck," said Rie.

Trey lived in that same region of Japan when he was a young teacher. 

"My wife’s house is probably gone forever," he said. 

A grocery store they ran for the community out of an attached building is also damaged.  

"The neighbor’s house is leaning onto theirs, which is impacting the structure of the home," said Trey.  

Rie grew up in that community and says residents there have felt their share of earthquakes before, and a good warning system was already in place. But this quake was different.  

"I never thought my parents' area would get this much impact," said Rie. 

For now, cell service is spotty and Rie's parents will have to stay at an evacuation center in their community of Nakajima indefinitely as roads are repaired.  

"Most difficult thing for me is, I can’t do anything. Just wait to hear from them," said Rie. 

The family set up an online fundraiser to help the Kaga's rebuild their lives.   

"We’d like to rush over there, but we can’t even get in there," said Trey.  "There are a lot of people that don't know what they are going to do, and they are older." 

"There are people trying to survive, and not only my parents. I want people to hear, if they have some chance to contribute some form of help, nothing is small," said Rie.