RAMBLE: Mother Nature Brewing Up Major Trouble in the Asia Pacific Region

SOURCE:  AP Photo

Is is just me, or has Mother Nature recently been brewing up a huge pot of natural disasters for the Asia Pacific region?  There was a huge 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand in late February that toppled tall buildings and killed dozens of people.  Then there was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that shook Yunnan, China on March 10, that killed at least 25 people and injured 250 people.  And, just one day after China's quake, there was the 9.0 magnitude earthquake near the east coat of Honshu Island of Japan that not only violently shook the country, but then caused unrelenting tsunami waves that quickly surged six miles in from the coast line and decimated everything in its path.

The earthquake was Japan's most severe quake in history and the actual magnitude is still under discussion.  Some are saying that it may be as high as 9.4.  That same violent quake then caused turmoil in the Pacific Ocean with tsunami warnings quickly spanning from Russia, China, Taiwan, and Guam.  Hawaii's civil defense sirens started blaring approximately three hours after the earthquake and two hours after live footage captured surging tsunami waves eating up Sendai Prefecture.

As we made a quick assessment of our provisions (batteries, flashlights, water, canned goods, blankets, etc.) and we powered up our cell phones, I just watched in horror of footage coming out of Japan.  The quake and tsunami happened in the afternoon when children were still in school and adults were at work or out-and-about.  These were people who left the house that morning and probably forgot to tell their family members that they loved each other because like the rest of us, how were they supposed to know that a huge earthquake and tsunami would hit later on that afternoon?

Tsunamis were still kind of a unknown natural disaster to many Americans even after the huge tsunami that hit Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka in 2004 killing 230,000 people or the tsunami in Samoa in 2009 that killed at least 189 people.  There was footage of the aftermath on TV, but that didn't bring context to how terrifying tsunami waves are for life and limb.  Case in point, people in Hawaii as well as the West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington) were flocking to the coast line to see the waves.  They were thinking that tsunami waves were like surfing waves.  The live footage of the tsunami in Japan dispelled those notions as entire villages were destroyed and flattened in a matter of minutes.  I was so horrified to watch cars booking it out of the waves path, only to be swallowed up.

Hawaii suffered some minor damage due to the tsunami waves, but for the most part, we were spared the mass destruction and heart break that the Japanese are still trying to grasp.  This experience makes me appreciate the power of Mother Nature as well as keep in mind what is really important in life...family, love, and life.  My heart goes out to Japan and I will be making a donation to the Red Cross to help.  Please help.