Hundreds of Bodies Found in Japanese Coastal City

Seven ways to donate and spread awareness

(NEWSER) - If the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has you feeling helpless, turn to Mashable . The site rounds up seven ways you can do something—even if you’re broke:

• Like a page: For each person that “likes” the “Dog Bless You” Facebook page for search and rescue dogs, Explore.org will donate $1.
• Use Twitter hashtags: Hashtags to tweet or follow include #Jishin for general information, #Anpi to confirm the safety of people or places, #Hinan for evacuation info, and #311care for medical care info.

They'd predicted a massive quake southwest of Tokyo

(NEWSER) - For years, Japan’s scientists have been expecting a giant earthquake, pinpointing its location along a fault line southwest of Tokyo—but today’s disaster defied their forecasts. The country’s biggest earthquake occurred 231 miles northeast of the capital along a different fault, the Washington Post reports. Scientists had gone so far as to name the hypothetical southwestern quake the "Tokai Earthquake." They had also installed strain meters throughout that region, identified expected landslide locations on maps, and shared casualty estimates with officials. Seismic hazard maps assigned a more modest earthquake hazard to the region where the quake actually struck. Click to see photos of the devastation. More»

40 reported dead, figure all but certain to rise

(NEWSER) - At least 40 people were killed in the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing 23-foot tsunami that struck Japan today, and another 39 are confirmed missing, officials tell the AP , though they cautioned that the figure was all but certain to rise given the scale of the disaster. There have now been more than 20 aftershocks, most registering higher than magnitude 6.0. Officials have also declared a state of emergency at one power plant after its cooling system failed, and two other nuclear plants have had problems as well, but so far none of them have leaked radiation. More»

Country pauses to remember its dead

(NEWSER) - At 2:46pm local time today, people all across Japan stood in silence to remember the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami exactly one year ago that killed more than 19,000 people, destroyed 370,000 homes, and created the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, reports the AP . Sirens marked the earthquake, trains stopped, and a Buddhist priest in one coastal town rang a huge bell. At Tokyo's National Theater, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda stood in silence, along with hundreds of others. More»

Naoto Kan will officially quit next week

(AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and would officially quit as prime minister after the ruling party votes Monday to pick a new leader—the country's sixth prime minister in five years. More»