Thoughts and prayers go out to those in Japan after a record-breaking earthquake yesterday afternoon on Japan's eastern shore. The 8.9 magnitude quake was followed by a 13-foot tsunami, as well as more than 19 aftershocks. Death toll stands in the hundreds and is expected to rise. Read it here.
Seems to me that these killer quakes are happening more and more frequently-- Haiti, Chile, Indonesia, and New Zealand were all hit with big quakes in the last year. Scientists are considering global warming/climate change as an explanation, but if you ask me, the Mayans are becoming much more credible. I'm not suggesting it's the end of the world, but so many horrific events give me pause. It's that damn Ring of Fire, the border of plate tectonics where 90% of the world's earthquake and volcanic activity occur, including Alaska, Japan, Indonesia, and South America.
For all those vacationing in Hawaii (approximately half of Alaska's population- welcome to spring break), tsunami warnings and evacuations took place early this morning but no significant damage was reported. One American fatality was reported in Crescent City, California due to tsunami action. Run for high ground, people!
We've got to be grateful that a quake of this magnitude struck a developed country, and not one of the many third world countries of the Pacific Rim. Japan is luckily very picky about its engineering codes, and many many buildings- especially in downtown Tokyo- managed to survive the quake. To put it in perspective, the horrific quake that struck Haiti just over a year ago was a magnitude 7.0, and death toll there was in the hundreds of thousands.
Please remember to keep Japan in your thoughts right now-- and hey, texting REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 can't hurt either.
On a side note, it looks like my room was hit by a quake/tsunami disaster of its own-- my roommate and I managed to hit the trifecta of spilling, breaking, and even burning multiple things last night. Anyone got a Swiffer?
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