Natural Disasters in Japan

**UPDATE** Author Maureen Johnson did a post on donations for Shelter Boxes in Japan. Go check it out, and see how you can help! http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/2011/03/11/shelterbox-in-japan/

I can’t tell you how I felt when I turned on the TV this morning and see this:

Read the news article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598

The weirdest part? This is exactly what happens in the book I’m currently querying, The Last Onset. Only take what has happened on the news and magnify it by 10 or more. Because in my story, natural disasters are tearing apart the world. Earthquakes hit Japan, and finally a large tsunami wipes out the island entirely.

Why did I pick Japan to wipe out? Because whenever my brother and sister and I would play RISK, Josh and Jill didn’t care what their mission was. Their whole goal was to own Japan the longest. They would spend the whole game fighting over that small island. And so that’s why I decided to destroy it.

But now it hits home as those devastation become real, and I am so glad that my book isn’t real in the aspect that Japan would be gone. Along with 70% of the rest of the world.

I do know that this isn’t the end. What we’ve seen today is only a hint of what will happen tomorrow. Over the last decade, natural disasters around the world have not only increased significantly, but the scale of the disasters have also increased.

I have always been big on emergency preparedness. I was the three-year-old girl who had earthquake drills with her Barbies, and packed a suitcase full of books (even though I couldn’t read yet) to take with me in case there was a fire. What I really want to tell you now is that YOU need to prepare now. Not just physically, but I want you to take a second and think: what would I do in such a situation?

Good question to ask yourself:

What is the first thing I would do in an earthquake? A flood? A tsunami?

How would I escape?

What is my evacuation plan?

How can I find my family and who is my emergency contact?

Check out the government’s emergency website to find out more details.

I read an article in TIME Magazine ages ago where they did a study on those who were in the World Trade Center and on the plane that landed in the Hudson. Those who had thought in advance what they would do if a disaster happened had a faster reaction time. The others were floored with shock, and had to be told what to do. So take the short time to figure out what you would do if something happened in the work place, in your car, or at home.

And for now: Pray for Japan. And all those in the way of the tsunami.

And since we all need a laugh, I found this as a review on Amazon (the first one).

If you find yourself stuck in a place high up because zombies or some other form of danger is beneath you, you could lower yourself down with this paracord once the danger had passed or was eliminated. That is unless of course you weigh more than 550lbs. In which case you’re probably awesome enough without the paracord considering you climbed to a high place in the first place.