Yoko's family is all okay, but this is, obviously, not okay.
A big (mega) earthquake was inevitable, but now that it's happened it's hard to believe. This morning I was watching the news, the tsunamis rolling in and killing people live on TV and had to shut it off to go to work. How can we study grammar at a time like this?
What can be done? They/we have been waiting for a large earthquake in this area and it's hard to say, but true, it could have been much, much, much worse if it had been further to the south. Tokyo? Osaka? You can only imagine that wall of water rushing through Shibuya on a Friday night.
This happens. This is something that happens. I was watching Magnolia when the Niigata earthquake came in 2004. I didn't know what to do.
The Japanese are a strong, resilient people. The things that frustrated me about Japanese culture when I was there probably saved thousands of lives today: everyone did as they were told, did what they had learned in their earthquake drills, and stayed calm. They are/will be stoic in the face of nature and rebuild and be even better prepared next time.
So, today, for what it's worth, I'm proud of my association with Japan, however small and insignificant it is.