Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Summary by CNN

CNN World has created a pretty comprehensive summary of what happened in Japan.  The videos included were "absolutely shocking".  You can see many towns were just wiped out.  The dangers of the surge inland was stunning.

Here is an interactive map of the Japan Tsunami and Earthquake.  We can see most of the damage and videos were from the Eastern half of the country, on the same side as where the earthquake occurred.  I am quite impressed with the integration of the Google Maps with CNN's interactive features.

Another great comparison of the devastation that has happened is the before and after pictures of various cities and locations that was struck by the earthquake and the surge of seawater inland.  For many of these cities, they are displaced completely by mud and debris.  Scary.

Lastly, I've just realized that most Nuclear power plants seem to be built near the ocean/seawater.  This could be because the designers would like to have easy access to a cold water supply in case of emergencies, but it really seems like a bad idea when there are now realized potential of Tsunami and surges that can potentially overrun the plant.

The last video from CNN here does not make me want to live anywhere near any large bodies of water.  I remembered when I visited the Amalfi coast in Italy, I kept wondering why the people back then didn't live near the beautiful water.  With the dangers of tsunami and water surging inland, as well as various invading marauders, it's a wonder why they preferred living on hilltops.