Japan Earthquake and Tsunami News, Facts and Statistics

[Kofi]

I saw the video yesterday and it is very heartbreaking to see so many in pain and in sorrow. Being an African I have seen pain and I have seen sorrow and I know how pain feels like so anytime I see people in pain, I feel their pain. In January last year a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck the capital of Haiti and destroyed almost everything in its path including precious human lives. The Haiti earthquake claimed over 250,000 human lives and destroyed thousands of houses and torn tens of thousands of families apart. Haiti is a very poor country and had no measures in place in case of such natural disasters and that worsened the situation in Haiti. The shock still runs through the bodies and souls of Haitians even today and considering the extreme pain and sorrow the destruction brought, it will take a very long time for the shock to finally disappear from the minds of the poor Haitians.
The Haiti earthquake was a magnitude 7.0 and that magnitude 7.0 caused that extreme destruction in Haiti we saw in the news. Now imagine a magnitude 8.9 earthquake. That is the magnitude Japan faced on March 11, 2011. Japan is a rich and powerful nation and had so many measures in place in case of natural disasters such as this but as we all know, nature can be very stubborn at times and nobody has the power to stop nature when nature goes a little bit crazy. I have been searching online to see if I could find the actual death toll but it is too early to tell at this point because a powerful tsunami followed that powerful earthquake and buried almost everything on its path including some precious human lives. Yesterday the death toll was estimated to be around 1000 lives but I just read an article on yahoo news and the death toll has risen up high to over 10000 and keeps rising. Several houses are buried deep inside the water and those houses contained human beings and not all would be able to come out alive especially the old and the aged. It is a very sad story and it is up to us all especially those who can to show our human side towards Japan and help save lives.

According to reports there is also a radioactive leakage going on right now due to the meltdown of some nuclear plants in Japan which is making matters worse for the already battered Japanese people which can have a long time effect on so many people if left uncontrolled. It is up to the international communities to speed up things a little bit to help control some of these leakages before it gets out of hand.

We can all help. Even if you have no money to give, you can pray for Japan and you can pray for the poor Japanese people so lets all help because that is what makes us human beings.

I will be posting updates from time to time.

[Kofi]

I just read an article on cnn and according to that article the radioactive leakages in Japan have gotten out of hands which means more radioactive substances not just in the air but also in water and in food. I don't know much about these radioactive substances but from the little science I learned in school, some of these radioactive substances can ionize your blood just like x-rays do and can cause mutations in your genes and that is the dangerous part. Your genes determine who you are. These same genes are the carriers of the hereditary materials we pass on to our offspring so if there are several mutations in these genes then that implies several mutations in several generations to come. If a normal gene codes for a protein that form the human nose, a mutated gene may code for twice the number which implies two human noses on one head or two human heads on one body or even 8 limbs on a single body. Not just multiple features. A mutated gene may not function at all which may result in babies with no limbs, babies with no heads, etc. Also, some of the mutated genes may work against themselves and cause several autoimmune diseases, cancers, and even deaths. That is the dangerous part of these radioactive leakages.

Most people are left in the cold with no food and no water and several others are still buried deep inside the wreckage. According to sources, donations are not coming in the way they poured in for Haiti because most people think Japan is a very rich and powerful nation and can handle this on their own but as we can see, Japan is facing too much at the same time and therefore needs our help.

So far the actual death toll is unknown but according to sources, the final death toll may sadly be more than 10000. So far the authorities are concentrating more on halting the radioactive leakages which leaves some still buried under the wreckage. Japan needs our help so let us all help. If you have no money to give you can still pray for Japan because Japan is facing too much at the same time.

[Kofi]

The official death toll now stands at 6,400 and keeps rising every single day. According to sources, the death toll could be more than 25,000. For example officials in Ishinomaki (a town in Japan) confirmed today that about 10,000 of their citizens are missing. Several other towns in Japan are reporting missing citizens but these figures of missing citizens have not been added to the death toll yet. According to one associate professor (Ken Joseph) of Chiba university who is in Japan right now, "the death toll is going to be closer to 100,000 than 10,000".

Sources also report the weather is not being kind to Japan at all in these hard times. According to sources, it is extremely cold in Japan right now and to make matters worse, several people are left with no power, no heat, just blankets to keep them warm at night, and in some cases no food which is very sad.

[Kofi]

The death toll keeps rising every single day. Now the reported death toll is around 18,000 with several others missing. The destruction is so huge that the world bank estimates the rebuild may cost about 235 billion American dollars.

The radiation level has risen so high in some areas that it has affected some food and water sources. In some areas the radiation levels are around 100,000 times higher than normal which has raised several health concerns.

High radiation levels have been detected in foods such as fish, milk, fruits, and vegetables. High radiation levels have been detected in water sources such as tap water. The Japanese officials are working very hard to control some of these radiation leakages and also provide shelter and the necessary help for the desperate survivors.

Unlike what we saw in Haiti, I think the Japanese people have carried out themselves very well in a very strong communal spirit helping one another instead of depending entirely on external help. The Japanese officials have done great trying to deal with all these problems at the same time.

I will keep posting updates.

you cant compare Haiti to Japan. Japan is an advanced country whereas Haiti is a poor third world country.