On Friday March 11 Japan was hit by the largest earthquake recorded in the country for the last 300 years, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, followed by a tsunami that devastated entire cities in the northern part of the country.
The 23 foot wave that came in from the Pacific Ocean after the quake lifted houses from their foundations and carried debris along with cars, buses and trucks along with it as far as 10 miles inland in a black wave of destruction.
If that wasn't enough, two nuclear power plants shut down because of the massive earthquake and lost backup powered generators that would keep cooling system pumps running, threatening to allow the nuclear fuel to overheat and possibly result in a meltdown.
The quake caused skyscrapers in Tokyo to sway for up to a half hour after the 5 minute rumbling, but the buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes by moving a little bit rather than breaking, and there were no reports of any tall buildings collapsing.
The resulting tsunami spread out across the Pacific Ocean and caused damage in Hawaii about 8 hours later and in California 12 hours later, pulling boats from their moorings and washing them out to sea.
One death was recorded near Crescent City, California when 5 people were washed out to sea as they were watching the wave come in, 4 of the 5 being rescued.
News from Japan was coming out mostly through reports on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, giving the rest of the world pictures and reports that couldn't be captured by the usual news sources.
The speed that technology gives us to pass along information is giving the people of the world the ability to make judgments and express opinions so much faster than even a couple of years ago.
Major news organizations in the U.S. immediately put news reporters on planes headed to the devastation, but the private citizens on the ground with cell phones and internet access posted breaking stories within minutes of the events, beating the professionals at their own game.
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