A friend of mine sent me this link
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm
It is an interesting site. You can use your mouse to move a black line between photos.
The photos are of areas of Japan before the quake and tsunami and after. The devastation is incredible.
When the tsunami hit Indonesia, it was horrible but because it was not a developed country it seemed less horrible. I'm not saying that the destruction in Indonesia was any less horrific, but I don't think (based on the news coverage) it hit "us" Westerners as much.
Japan is so "civilized" with actual houses and factories etc - things we can relate to - it makes it seem even worse. I noticed most of the crop lands were gone. They subsist on rice and with rice fields gone - it will take years to rebuild them and grow rice - this disaster is going to affect people in Japan for many years to come. It's not a matter of simply rebuilding houses and factories - their whole economy is gone. It's as though a huge tornado wiped out all of our corn, and wheat fields. Also, the fishing is going to be gone for a long time - the tsunami wreaked havoc on the ocean bed as well - the Japanese have fish as their primary protein mainstay. How would we work out if all of our cattle, chickens, pigs etc were gone in a day? This trial for the Japanese has only just begun.
Now, I realize I am making these statements without concrete evidence. I don't know that it will take years to rebuild the rice fields. But I do know that rice takes longer to grow than some other grain. I don't know that the fishing is gone, but common sense says that any storm that destructive would cause problems. And with the water coming up into the land, how many tons of fish were washed up on shore? How long for the fish population to come back? No, I haven't researched this, but this is a blog and my opinion.
It is scary.
Oh, not end of days scary, although that does run through the mind some times. If it is end of days then I simply have to make sure I am ready. That is not the point, though. The point is that when we look at a disaster that has us gasping for air, the news keeps us up to date for days, weeks on end. Then another "show-stopping" story shows up and we no longer hear about the last disaster.
However, Japan has been changed forever.
Perhaps, after all the hulla balloo is over, we should remember to keep them, along with the people who suffered disasters that we no longer hear about, in our prayers, good thoughts, minds.
Tragedy may make the headlines for one day - but continues to plague the life for many.
This is Ken and Skittles. 