Japanese Earthquake

Just a few months ago, (March 11th), an earthquake and tsunami rattled the Northern shores of Japan. That Friday, at 2:46p.m, the 8.9 magnitude quake struck. At first, only the walls shook and some papers fell, but soon enough a 30-foot black wave would crash and cripple the North Coast of Japan. It killed thousands of people, and injured many more. Airports were closed, roads became impassable, and trains stopped. Even though many people perished, the Japanese governments construction codes and disaster preparedness saved countless lives. But in the most part, Mother Nature destroyed more than anyone could ever prepare for. The next day, the only reality was death and destruction. Till this day the Japanese people are desperately cleaning up the nuclear spills, and the crumbled landscape. Still ten months later, we can only watch our ally struggle to bring survivors home again.

One of the major impacts from the tsunami was not only the flooding, but also a nuclear disaster. It was only after the people thought the worst was over when they found out a main nuclear power plant was damaged. A cooling system stopped functioning and the plant was on the verge of melting down. Radioactive wreckage was spreading all over the coastline as the power plant continued on the verge of a melt down. 90,000 people were evacuated from a 12-mile zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Many could not escape due to the wreckage. It Nuclear damage may take 100s of years to clean up the Nuclear Cesium and the iodine. Even though reports indicate that the amounts of radiation will half in the next two years, the maximum radiation that people can tolerate is extremely low. Preferably none. 300,000 people were evacuated from their homes and farms, and will probably never be able to return in their lifetime. Even though everything those people owned was destroyed, it is important for them to look forward to a return to their ancestral homes.

As life on earth continues there will always be disasters that will threaten and challenge entire societies. There will always be goodwill and outreach that will compell people to come to the aid of their fellow man. And there will be both disasters and acts of kindness that will make people pray and thank a god that they never believed in.