FFXIV Service Suspended Due to Tohoku Earthquake (oh noes!)

This just in from the ZAM forums:

As many forum-goers are aware, the Tohoku region of Japan was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake casuing massive damage. Thankfully, Sage Sundi tweeted to let everyone know that the development team is safe and unharmed. However, news from the official FFXIV Twitter account now indicates that the servers will be shut down temporarily. From the feed:


As a result of the earthquake, we temporarily may have to shut down the servers hosting FFXI and FFXIV. (1/3)

We will give you as much advance notice as possible under the rapidly changing circumstances. (2/3)

If the servers are shut down, we will provide updates in the Information section of our official websites http://bit.ly/dH3G4u (3/3)

Due to the earthquakes that have occurred in Japan, we have decided to temporarily suspend the game servers.(1/5)

To accommodate the suspension of services, players will not be billed for the FFXI service throughout the April billing cycle.(2/5)

Please see the official announcement for more details. http://bit.ly/etk5lr (3/5)

We will continue to operate the official websites and the forums to provide updates on the current situation.(4/5)

Additional information regarding this matter will also be posted on the Information section as it becomes available.(5/5)

According to the official announcement referenced in the feed (which you can view here) Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is asking customers to reduce electricity usage so as to avoid power shortages. So, by the great sacrifice of adventurers all across Eorzea, TEPCO may be able to restore electricity to the real world :)


...and I'm spent.