April1,2011Vol.109.docVIP

April 1, 2011 Vol.109 ?by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent Earthquake and Tsunami Devastate Japan On Friday, March 11, a massive earthquake hit Japan at 2:46 p.m. local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was located about 130 kilometers east of Sendai, and some reports said that the quake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, making it the most powerful earthquake in Japan’s history. Although the earthquake caused considerable damage, it was the tsunami that followed that actually devastated many parts of Japan. Almost immediately after the earthquake, government officials in Japan began to issue tsunami warnings. Then, only one hour or so after the earthquake, a tsunami was seen flooding Sendai Airport, with news footage showing waves sweeping away airplanes and other vehicles as walls of water moved inland. Sadly, the tsunami is reported to have swept away several towns along the coast of Japan. Homes and buildings were washed away, and some towns were reduced to nothing more than piles of rubble. To make matters worse, several of Japan’s nuclear power plants were also affected by the natural disaster. Though these nuclear power stations automatically shut down after the earthquake, waves from the tsunami overwhelmed the Fukushima I and II stations and damaged the emergency generators there. This caused a power failure to the cooling system, which led to explosions and radiation leaks. More than 200,000 people nearby were evacuated as workers scrambled to deal with these potential nuclear meltdowns. Dubbed the “East Japan Great Earthquake” by some, this natural disaster was well reported on the Internet, with locals uploading video footage of the earthquake and the tsunami almost in real time. Perhaps because of this, donations and offers of assistance from around the world began pouring in almost immediately following this disaster. Many countries have also been quick to pitch in with help, including Taiwan, which is sending a donation of NT$100 mill