Monday Mood Swings: Mother Nature vs Japan

We all know that Mother Nature has mood swings. Unfortunately on Friday, Japan was in her way and got slammed. They did nothing wrong, but as we all know a when a mood swing hits a woman, all hell can break loose! Cars, ships, and building were all swept away by a wall of water after a 8.9 earthquake stuck northeast of Tokyo around the Sendai area. It's hard to image the power of those waves. We have seen in the news so many different videos by Japanese residents or even tourists who have posted on Facebook or submitted to the media.

One particular Facebook post is a 6 minutes video showing waters rising, cars floating down the street or disappearing below the surface, and buildings crumbling their water grave. It takes your breath away to see the devastation caused by these two events. What amazed me is that in this video the people remained calm. There was nothing they could do but you don't hear any crying or screaming, other than the rushing water and the buildings crumbling in the background there is silence. Crowds remained orderly and calm! Maybe it was shock at the damage, the loss of loved ones, but no matter what caused their calming behavior these people are absolutely amazing.

Kira and I have learned a lot about Japan in the last several days. One thing that I didn't know was that 73% of Japan is forested, mountainous, and is unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use! Therefore, the habitable zones, mainly located in the coastal areas have an extremely high population density. Then comes the Ring of Fire! Did you know that 10% of the world's active volcanoes are found in Japan? No? I didn't either! Japan falls in between the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate and due to that 'ring of fire' as many as 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly!

If one country is prepared for this type of scenario it is Japan.  Due to their extensive code enforcement and the fact they are trained at an early age to dive under a desk to protect themselves in a quake, their preparation undoubtedly saved many lives on Friday.

Our family has spent the entire weekend glued to the news, waiting and watching what is to happen next.  It reminds me a lot of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Your heart just goes out to these people and you want to do something to help, but what?

Do you want to learn more about Japan with your child?  If so visit Kids Web Japan.  It is a wealth of information about geography, history, language, culture, and much, much more.  Enjoy!