Japan - before and after tsunami

[frorider]

the Atlantic has some good photos here.

[Edgnar]

Wow, amazing how big that monster was. Still terrifying.

[HansJob]

wow...speechless. #10 is eerie. notice the person in the blue jacket.

[Benny Profane]

Nat Geo had an hour long show a few months after that thing happened with videos taken from various vantage points as it happened. True disaster porn.

[sidewall]

a lot of respect for the Japanese and how they cleaned all that shit up. Talk about a cluster.

[Tippster]

wow...speechless. #10 is eerie. notice the person in the blue jacket.

It's also a really good example of how a tsunami really isn't a "wave", but the ocean literally goes up by 20 feet. Look at the rocks and cliff in the background.

[gaijin]

A lot of comments on that page about the clean up. Some people saying New Orleans didn't get the funding Japan did. I don't know. What I do know is that school students all over the country roll in bus-load after bus-load to volunteer. They pack a lunch, grab their boots/gloves/shovels and simply get after it. Students living in border prefectures go on weekends, and kids from longer distances go for several days at a time.

This clean up isn't all gov't money. This is the biggest volunteer mission I have ever heard of. The gov't is smart to have the kids rebuild their country, imho. Their work ethic is very promising to say the least. Let's not forget their brewing pride, camaraderie, values, you name it. Teenagers in this country are becoming a very strong generation.

Shameless plug for a buddy of mine who stepped up, imo. Facebook -- site.

He used to work for the local international exchange office here in Yamagata. He returned home to Canada after a few years and then the tsunami hit. He set up his own cleanup volunteer mission to come back.

I live over the mountains in Yamagata, 100+km west of the devastation. Life seems normal here. The last year has been completely surreal, though. I hear way more about volunteer missions than I do anything else.

[HansJob]

It's also a really good example of how a tsunami really isn't a "wave", but the ocean literally goes up by 20 feet. Look at the rocks and cliff in the background.

Didn't notice it before but those two outlying rocks are submerged. Damn. Foreigner The tenacity of that nation has always impressed me.

[warthog]

A lot of comments on that page about the clean up. Some people saying New Orleans didn't get the funding Japan did. I don't know. What I do know is that school students all over the country roll in bus-load after bus-load to volunteer. They pack a lunch, grab their boots/gloves/shovels and simply get after it. Students living in border prefectures go on weekends, and kids from longer distances go for several days at a time.

This clean up isn't all gov't money. This is the biggest volunteer mission I have ever heard of. The gov't is smart to have the kids rebuild their country, imho. Their work ethic is very promising to say the least. Let's not forget their brewing pride, camaraderie, values, you name it. Teenagers in this country are becoming a very strong generation.

Shameless plug for a buddy of mine who stepped up, imo. Facebook -- site.

He used to work for the local international exchange office here in Yamagata. He returned home to Canada after a few years and then the tsunami hit. He set up his own cleanup volunteer mission to come back.

I live over the mountains in Yamagata, 100+km west of the devastation. Life seems normal here. The last year has been completely surreal, though. I hear way more about volunteer missions than I do anything else.

Very good point. But, you forget- George Bush created Katrina, so why should the folks in NO have to clean up his mess.
There were a lot of volunteers that went there to help though. I think the bigger problem was the people that left and never came back.

I'm afraid we could learn a lot from Japan, but we never will.

[BmillsSkier]

How do they remove these huge ships that are so far inland, or stuck on top of buildings? Truly amazing pics.

Even more remarkable is the spirit and pride of that country as gaijin touched on. We don't have that here in the US as a whole anymore. Teaching moment indeed.

[schuss]

Very good point. But, you forget- George Bush created Katrina, so why should the folks in NO have to clean up his mess.
There were a lot of volunteers that went there to help though. I think the bigger problem was the people that left and never came back.

I'm afraid we could learn a lot from Japan, but we never will.

Well, look at the difference - Japan is a small landmass with a lot of people. US has a lot of land and there wasn't necessarily an incentive to return if everything was wiped out. If your house is gone and you didn't have flood insurance (or even if you did) and you had a replaceable job - why return? A lot of people will take the money and run.

[jfost]

...We don't have that here in the US as a whole anymore. Teaching moment indeed.

I think you absolutely see it on a local level - we are ginormous though, so it takes a special crisis to bring us all together...

did you not stand around outside your office after 9/11 holding hands with strangers?

[ass-to-mouth]

I'm afraid we could learn a lot from Japan, but we never will.

Couldn't agree more. We need to bring the 100 year interest only mortgage Stateside.

That would fix the housing problem overnight.

[BmillsSkier]

I think you absolutely see it on a local level - we are ginormous though, so it takes a special crisis to bring us all together...

did you not stand around outside your office after 9/11 holding hands with strangers?

No that is true, and that's exactly what I meant by "as a whole". You see it alot when it's people that have a sense of community. And yes, for the most part you did see it after 9/11. I'm thinking more along the lines of Mobile AL vs New Orleans hand how different the two communites reacted to the same natural disaster.

[Tuckerman]

These people suck ass. I hope they never see another dine.

Japan Admits Tsunami Funds Used to Defend Whaling Fleet.

Japanese whalers get $28m in earthquake cash

[single]

F you dorlpheeeeeeen! Screw you rhayle!

I don't see how a good bout of whaling couldn't up country morale thus helping the problem. Homies gotta eat and use whale oil.