I first thought that the earthquake in Japan wouldn't amount to much damage - I thought they had a lot of protection against the quakes which shake the ground so often in their location around the Pacific Ring of Fire. Instead they are suffering through massive structural damages, including to their nuclear power plants, caused by the magnitude 8.9 earthquake followed by massive tsunami waves which slammed into their low lying costal areas, destroying everything in their path and sweeping thousands out to sea. Numbers of dead are estimated as high as 10,000 people.
A large scale disaster like this brings even more problems in the days after the original disaster. Lack of food and clean water, no electricity, restricted transportation and the onset of disease make for a seemingly non-stop run of life threating situations. The Canadian government recommends you donate money to experienced humanitarian agencies like the Canadian Red Cross.
