More photos here... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/photos-of-japans-earthquake-and-tsunami/article1938156/
Power was down, public transport were affected, mobile network was down. Nuclear power plants in danger as cooling system fail due to power failure. Residents living near power plants were informed to be evacuated. Fires broke out, the in-rushing water destroying anything in its path, dragging the growing mass of debris with it as it travels inland. More tsunamis are expected to hit as sirens continue to ring.
Many countries located around the ring of fire also released tsunami alerts - including Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, and North/South America.
The extent of physical damage was caught on film, thanks to new media. Facebook and Twitter are also lively avenues for people to keep up to date with on the ground reporting. Reports flooding the various traditional broadcast media - with the likes of CNN, BBC, NHK, CNA, CNBC... providing viewers any updates on the situation in Japan.
For economic impact, the YEN has dived sharply since the tsunami hit, but rebounded as suspected repatriation takes place. source - ttp://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110311-705221.html ...
But what was heartening was how the citizens approached this catastrophic disaster. Despite the scale of trauma and damage, they acted calmly. I suppose the drills worked. Pictures showing an orderly queue to use the payphone was a good example. With many still stranded in the streets with no way to get home, I sincerely pray the best for Japan.
The rebuilding might take some time, but I suppose help's on its way from neighbouring countries should it be required.
