Relief Efforts

[scarreddragon]

Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the wishes and comments on my last post! It is noon here in Japan, and we are still feeling aftershocks every 10-15 minutes or so. If you want to keep up with all the quakes going on, here is the JMA's site on it. Try going back to previous entries to see just how many we've had in the past 24 hours

Comments

[sakurakessho]

There's this going around on Twitter:
Please RT. Help relief efforts in Japan. Text “REDCROSS” to “90999” to make a $10 American Red Cross donation.

So I did that. :)

Just the same though, glad you're okay.

The ground shaking must feel so odd.

[scarreddragon]

<3 thank you!

actually the ground isn't so bad, the house is pretty scary... I'm on the third floor so I really feel it!

...there went another one!

[sakurakessho]

Besides the ground shaking, how does the whole mess compare to the aftermath of a hurricane. I know in the harder hit areas there's a lot more destruction, but I wanna know if there are any other similarities.

[scarreddragon]

Well, after a hurricane you are left with immediate and easily- ... hmm, what's the word. Easily-quantifiable, I guess, damage. What I mean by that, is "the hurricane went here, and it caused all this damage" and then you start cleaning up. With an earthquake, it is "it struck here and we felt it out to here, it caused this much damage, but then there could be a tsunami after it to cause damage, and then aftershocks could cause more damage" so you still have to be on your guard. Whereas after a hurricane, once it is over, it is over.

Does that make sense? A tsunami's destruction can be much like a hurricanes, but with an earthquake you could get structural damage (cracks and stuff) that you don't necessarily see. Then if a big enough quake or aftershock comes, the building is already weakened, and there is a greater chance of it falling or getting even more badly damaged.