Japan

For much of the weekend I was glued to CNN watching the events unfold. It is one of those disasters that makes you remember right where you were when you saw it happen. I'll never forget seeing that first picture of the fiery debris floating on the tsunami when I logged on to yahoo news. I'll never forget too seeing the headline state that nearly 100 were dead. Sadly, after watching the waves and fire and after shocks and cold weather and nuclear disasters, I knew how quickly that number would skyrocket.

Despite all of our technology that allows us to witness nearly every moment of the event (and all of digital media, youtube, twitter and facebook and google, that are allowing survivors to stay in contact with loved ones or call for help or share their testimonies with the world), sometimes the news is just so devastating that we - sitting comfortably half a world away - just can't imagine.

For example --

A tide of bodies washed up along Japan's coastline Monday, overwhelming crematoriums, exhausting supplies of body bags and adding to the spiraling humanitarian, economic and nuclear crisis after the massive earthquake and tsunami.

Can you even try to imagine that?

I know just watching some of the footage of the tsunami crashing through the cities and country side was akin to watching a sci-fi movie.

"It almost seems like special effects," my wife said Saturday as we watched footage of the killer wave.

But this was all too real. I couldn't help but notice at the bottom of the screen one little white van blindly driving down a country road, oblivious to the wall of water rushing toward it.

And the incredible thing is that Japan was one of the most prepared countries in the world for this type of disaster. But sometimes there are disasters that are just so severe that nothing can truly prepare you for them (Katrina was much the same way).

Here is an incredible link to before and after footage.