Comment on "8.9 Earthquake hits Japan" (bbs.chinadaily.com.cn, March 11)

After a sleepless night with dozens of aftershocks, another two 6.7 earthquakes hit central Japan. I feel like I am riding on a small boat in heavy waves. It is however not clear whether the two am earthquakes are related to the big tremor that shook northeastern Japan yesterday.

In Tokyo public transport is slowly resuming although there are still many problems with electricity, gas and phones. To add insult to injury, the Fukushima No. 1 and 2 nuclear plants have become a threat with three reactors in plant no.2 impossible to cool. People are now being evacuated from a large radius around the plants.

Northern Japan's seaboard looks like a war zone. Whole villages and small cities have been destroyed by the killer tsunami or ravaged by fires. The number of casualties is still unknown and will be for some time to come although scores of bodies have been found already. Highways and railways to the north are partially destroyed; no communication in most places and air traffic to Sendai (Miyagi prefecture) and Fukushima is interrupted. The Sendai airport was destroyed by the tsunami.

It is difficult to say how this will play out. Most people are under shock in spite of all the preparedness, drills in expectation of the big quake. It was all too sudden and many places had only five minutes to evacuate before the tsunami hit.

Well, I guess it doesn't matter whether a nation is affluent or not. Nature's fury cannot be controlled. Human beings have to live with it.

Satsu_jin, on bbs.chinadaily.com.cn