The Whole World Is Set On Fire

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you've most likely heard of Japan.   More specifically the devastation Japan has experienced since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred a week ago today, on March 11th.  The sheer strength of the quake, the relation of the epicenter to population masses, and the shallow hypocenter all played a crucial part in the destructive outcome of the past week.  

The St. Louis Post Dispatch illustrated the magnitude of the earthquake itself in relation to other historical quakes and energy equivalents such as volcanic eruptions.  Japan's recent earthquake was the third most powerful quake in known history.  The energy released was more than the volcanic eruptions of Krakatoa and Mt. St. Helens, well above that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb (!), and far beyond the strength of an average tornado.  All of this power was unleashed on the island nation of Japan.  That was just the earthquake.

from St. Louis Post Dispatch (03.12.2011) A5

The threat to life and property continued after the shock waves ebbed.  The quake triggered a massive tsunami that wiped parts of the coast clean off the map.  Live footage is available from virtually every major news source, showing the destructive force of the tsunami.  In latter days of this ordeal, we've also learned of the growing threat of nuclear meltdown at power plants damaged by the quake and tsunami.  

While the Post's coverage of the disaster has quickly diminished from above-the fold bold priority to today's below the fold 1/5 of the spread, the disaster is far from over.  

Google maps before and after the earthquake/tsunami

Misha Collins, a noted actor and philanthropist, recently Tweeted:

What happened in Japan is killing me. So sad. Its like the apocalypse happened, but only in one country.

I couldn't have said it better myself.  We can't put this on the back burner.  This can't be another Hurricane Katrina, where we broadcast the living daylights out of the event for a period of time and then push it out of sight.  

Recently, Criminal District Court Judge Laurie White from New Orleans spoke on my campus about Katrina and the havoc is wreaked not only on the city of New Orleans, but its people, its infrastructure, and, interestingly enough, it's justice system.  It's been six years since Hurricane Katrina hit.  Judge White expressed how you could travel to New York City and asked someone there about Katrina; they might respond with "wasn't that a long time ago?"  If you went to New Orleans, however, she pointed out, you would see a vast difference in perspective.  

I fear this is bound to happen with Japan.  They aren't out of the woods yet, and even when that point comes after God only knows what else, Japan is not going to bounce back right away.  The infrastructure damage is going to take years to rebuild.  The loss of life will never be recouped.  

My hope for the U.S. is that we, as a nation, will be here to support Japan in whatever they need.  If it's foreign aid, we can provide.  If it's relief workers, we have people ready in the wings (my own friend Lakota among them).  If, barring all that, they just need people to remember that they're working to rebuild their lives, we can remember.  Always remember.  

This 4-month old baby girl was found in the ruins of her home and reunited with her parents on March 14th, she had been missing since March 11th.  It's stories like this juxtaposed by the tragedy of the loss of life that is the face of Japan right now.  We love you, Japan.       

#loveforjapan