As another player here, I'm failing to see the problem, really. If you say you're too busy to check your journal's friend list, why not just check the OOC community or the specific community tag? The mod plurk is another good alternative. They're on the ball with using that, and a personal plurk isn't even required to look at it.

Additionally, you mentioned the earthquake event was moving at a fast pace, but it honestly seemed rather spaced out compared to most games. The whole thing took a little over a week if I'm right, and that's a nice lengthened time for a number of players.