A series of (very) unfortunate events

Tsunami engulfing everything that stood in its way.
Debris of all sorts were washed away and quickly spread within 10 km.

On March 11, 2011 at around 3 in the afternoon, I was caught aback and appalled by news (that I learned about through Twitter) of a destructive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the eastern portion of Japan, specifically in Sendai. The earthquake caused an equally catastrophic tsunami, wiping off a major part of Sendai. These series of events left more than three thousand dead and almost 7,000 missing (as of writing). News from all over television showed images and videos of the dreadful disaster as if scenes from an end-of-the-world-type of movie. Minute-by-minute updates flooded my Twitter wall, reports getting worse and worse.

This bridge toppled down due to the intensity of the earthquake.
This is the strongest earthquake that hit Japan in 300 years.

Japan experienced some 150 aftershocks after the "major" earthquake, many of which ranged from magnitude 5 to 6. And the sad part is: more are expected to come.

Like a scene from a movie.

I never thought I would live to see a tragedy as horrible as this one. The world stood shocked, at the same time, helpless to what was happening.

Like toy planes and cars. Only they aren't - they're real. And it scares the sh*t out of me.

There have already been three explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to date which have released an alarming amount of radiation in the atmosphere, threatening the lives of thousands of people. High radiation levels have been reported and people were warned to stay indoors. Reports of radiation slowly creeping towards the main city of Tokyo have caused people to stack up on goods or even flee the city.

The nuclear power plant explosion was one of the things the people dreaded. It only made the atmosphere toxic, as if the earthquake and tsunami were not enough.

This is truly a very trying time for Japan. Despite its being a first-world country and its "preparedness", Japan was no match for Mother Nature's power.

However, we are also witnesses to how resilient and united a people the Japanese are and how people from all over the world collaborated to help a nation in need. I am confident that Japan will soon get up on its feet. And just as Japan is called the "Land of the Rising Sun", so will its people prove that they too will rise to a new beginning, a new tomorrow.

Let us continue to pray for Japan, for the lives that have been lost, and for the safety of everyone else around the world.