Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Todd came to bed late Thursday night and woke me to tell me what had just happened in Japan. I laid awake a long time thinking about all those families that had just lost loved ones or had been separated. It was the afternoon in Japan so I wonder how many parents were at work while their kids were at school? I wonder how many were never reunited. I wonder about this picture. This looks like the child's grandmother -where is her mother?

We don't live far from the coast. In fact, we live close enough that had we lived in Japan where the tsunami hit it would have reached us. I have my mental plan of where I will go with the kids if we should ever have a strong earthquake. We will make a run for the nearby santa monica mountains. I have to tell you that it makes me just sick to think about being out of town for work if there should be a disaster like this.

Some of you might know that my brother Ryan studies disaster preparedness in Japan - specifically earthquakes. He is getting his PhD at Yale. During his most recent residency in Japan he worked for the earthquake institute. He was able to get in touch with his former colleagues yesterday and get a status update. He has been contacted by a relief organization that is trying to get supplies to Japan. They are trying to understand the chain of command in the country and have sought Ryan's expertise. He really should be one of the guest speakers on the major networks because he has some really interesting information about what the Japanese do to prepare for this. He may be headed for Japan in the next week.... stay tuned.