The Japan earthquake

This afternoon, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit Japan, causing a 4-meter high tsunami to ravage the northern lands. If you watched the news on TV, you'll probably see that horrible video being played over and over again: tons of water swallowing the farm lands, bringing with it houses, vans, and various debris. The "avalanche" moved fast, too. In a matter of seconds, it was able to cover a lot of miles (I assume) and even reached the viaduct where a number of cars were driving, trying to escape the calamity.

Now, you may say that Japan is disaster-ready. Actually, I saw it for myself in my CWTS class last summer, and they were really ready. The Japanese took these things seriously. Their earthquake drills were very efficient and everything was done thoroughly. There were even "fake" victims that need rescuing. Their equipments were up-to-date and effective. However, nothing beats a real disaster. We've seen it during Ondoy and Pepeng, and we've also seen it happen in Haiti, Chile, Australia, and other countries recently. People are helpless in the face of these disasters. There's nothing we could do to prevent these things from happening. No sophisticated and up-to-date technology could accurately predict when a disaster would strike. Scientists are able to know that an earthquake or a storm would hit, but they can't tell when or where. We can only hope it's not where we're standing at the moment.

As of the latest update, Hawaii was hit with tsunami. Davao City, Davao Oriental, and Mati in Mindanao have also felt tremors. A petrochemical complex in Japan exploded, and Kenya issued a tsunami alert. We don't know what's going to happen, but we do know that these things will keep happening especially when the end is near. The only thing we could do right now is get down on our knees, clasp our hands together, and whisper a prayer to God. Only He can save us.

(I'm following @inquirerdotnet and @gmanews on Twitter.)