they say it is the worst disaster to hit japan after WW2. entire area that is hit by quake and then tsunami seems to be wiped out. all the houses have turned back into raw material, like wooden planks. cupboards and house hold gadgets and are floating on the gigantic waves in millions. so are the cars, yachts, ships, and yet unbroken houses. the visuals on the news channels show the super strength of nature's fury, so amazingly. it almost seems artificial and unbelievable. as though it has been created by graphic designers for a disaster movie.
somehow there was something heartening and positive too. and that is that japan is not sitting down to mourn full time. she has already started working towards restructuring. i did not find any person banging their head on a wall with 'there is no hope. all is lost. now there is no point in living...' etc. not even one person gave that impression in the entire coverage of the disaster. a mother was heard saying, 'the wave was very huge. i managed to save myself; but i saw my daughter being carried off by the waves.' at no point she became unintelligible or choked on her words. it certainly does not mean that her sorrows are any less sad than our sorrows. japan is built on seismic zone. they get a few earth quakes every day. heir houses are built to withstand strong quakes; but then there will always be exception that will beat the calculations. like this one M8.9 quake followed by a 10m tsunami.
many countries have pledged help and have started sending medical teams and supplies. 'uk' was the first to air their support, then came 'us' and today 'india' (pranab mukherji in parliament) said the ships are ready to sail off as soon as clearance arrives.
thanks to world's politicians and industrialists, with their vested interests (mainly) and/or short sighted planning - disasters will keep coming and wiping out a lot of progress; but recovery will depend on country's strength of character in wiping out the effects of disasters...