Mother Nature Unleashed By Hope Wilkos,Writer/Blogger
In the early morning hours ET time, Mother Nature unleashed her fury in the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in at least 100 years, measured at 8.9 on the Richter Scale.
The waters rose in a 23-foot Tsunami and poured across rice fields, through towns and even pulled cars, boats and large buildings with its force. Chaos entailed as tens of thousands of people were unprepared and in a state of panic. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the “enormously powerful” earthquake had caused “tremendous damage over a wide area”.
At this point, it is difficult to determine the death toll but most likely hundreds of people are dead and even more are missing. We will most likely not get the full picture for at least a few more days or weeks.
The quake struck just over 200 miles from the bustling city of Tokyo, however, it is undeniable that the tremors were and are still being felt in the metropolitan area. As many as 70,000 people are being evacuated to shelters in the Sendai area. Nuclear power plants shut down safely although there was some concern around one that was having problems cooling the reactor. In Northern Japan, fires are burning out of control and an oil refinery was seen blazing and not yet able to be contained.
Aftershocks are being continually felt with the strongest being measured at 7.1. Tsunami warnings are in effect for at least 50 countries and territories and Hawaii has already felt some of the effect of the wave in a minor way. The Pacific Coastline of the United States is part of the warning region as well. Precautions are already being taken in the area.
The Prime Minister said that an emergency task force has been activated and the government has dispatched 8,000 troops to assist in the recovery efforts.
About 4 million homes are without power in Tokyo and surrounding areas. All forms of transportation were halted for a time directly following the quake.
People are stunned and scared and widespread damage and destruction is evident. President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said that the United States is standing by to help “in this time of great trial”.
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