On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake shook Japan and the hearts of the world.  The quake was the worst Japan has ever seen and was one of the 5 most powerful witnessed overall by mankind.  Tsunami waves of up to 39 metres were immediately ignited and caused further destruction to lives and infrastructure including level 7 meltdowns of three  reactors in the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant complex. Thousands of lives have been lost or swept away and thousands more are still considered missing. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, “In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan.”

A June 22nd update from earthquake-report.com sums it up very well: “It is further proof, we are reminded, that Japan is a society of immeasurable strength. And for this it can thank ‘wa’, or harmony. This is a collective feeling close to a sense of perfection. It ensures everyone knows their place and acts accordingly. Or so the Japanese like to tell themselves – and the outside world. Yet post-tsunami Japan is far from harmonious. The bullet trains may be running, but in the fishing villages and tiny ports that litter the jagged coastline north of Sendai, thousands are surviving on aid handouts. The emergency cash promised by the government is yet to arrive”.

Wide-spread relief efforts are still going on to help Japan get back on their feet, but the road to recovery is still very long. A website called Ganbatte.asia (がんばって.asia)was created to provide netizens a place to drop words of encouragement to Japan and its people on their way to overcoming their tragedy. Take a few seconds to send your wishes.

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Many groups from around the world have helped Japan out after the devastating earthquake that rocket the city. One of the most crucial help they got was from Google in the form of the Google Maps function. With that people were able to find out which hospitals had some empty beds for sick people who needed them. Also you could find out if your relatives had been admitted in a particular hospital. These helped a lot because hospital stuff were very busy during those times when the crisis hit and it woud have been close to impossible to get hold of someone using the telephone or going there. The Internet always comes to people's rescue these days in helping people in crucial times, it is doing a fine job. We should be embracing it and with DotAsia's objective of helping to bridge the digital divide, we are motivated in getting more people online so in desperate times of needs, they can use it to its potential.

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 日本地震最新發展

• 死亡﹕3373人；失蹤﹕7558人；受傷﹕1990人
• 東京電力昨晚透露，將在2至3天內，使用直升機向福島第一核電站4號反應堆燃料池投擲水彈降溫
• 據東京電力估計，核電站1號反應堆的燃料棒可能有七成損傷，2號反應堆燃料棒有33%損傷
• 東京南部靜岡縣昨發生6.4級地震，震央深度14公里，估計至少6人受傷

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日本大地震後觸發的核事故進一步惡化，福島第一核電站泄漏的輻射，已經飄到100公里外。第一核電站地震時在運作的3個反應堆（另3 個當時未有運作) 續一出事，3號反應堆昨日繼1號反應堆後發生外殼猛烈爆炸，2號反應堆的冷卻系統亦告失效，燃料棒「完全外露」。根據《讀賣新聞》的最新消息，有關方面已經打開2號反應堆原子爐的活塞，將內裏的蒸氣放出。這些蒸氣是由原子爐內直接釋出，含有很高的輻射。

日本大地震至今第5日，日本放送協會（NHK）昨晚報道，死亡人數已超過1萬，單在在宮城縣兩個海岸發現了2000具遺體。在寒冷的北部， 有近2萬戶人家停電，約140萬戶停水。目前全國已疏散約45萬人，還未包括從福島第一核電站 附近禁區撤離的8萬人。

source:
http://news.mingpao.com/20110315/gaa1.htm

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