The huge 8.9 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck the northeast coast of Japan today was reportedly the largest in Japan's modern history. Initial reports are that at least 300 people lost their lives in and around the city of Sendai, with the death toll sure to climb much higher. The NY Times is reporting that officials in Japan are saying that thousands are unaccounted for. The U.S. has pledged to provide disaster aid to Japan, and is repositioning naval ships and other assets to help in the recovery. Fortunately, the U.S. is one of the few countries that has the global resources to help in situation like this. This will be a major story for many weeks to come.
Clearly, our ability to forecast earthquakes is getting better, but is limited. Disasters like this should spur efforts at further research. So much devastation has been caused by earthquakes just in the past few years: Indian Ocean, Haiti, New Zealand, Chile, and now one of the worst in Japan. Our hands and hearts go out to them.
