Image screenshot from boston.com

I tried to keep up with live blogging, but between this and my local journalism work, it was near impossible, so instead I’ll try to compose a daily digest of things I find for those of you who are interested but do not have the time to track the scenario real time.

Death Toll as of 23:09 ET: 1,596.

First person video of the carnage

In six mintues, you see the water rise from being able to see the street, to having a huge house float by. SIX MINUTES!

video link

Why Japan’s sea walls didn’t protect them?

In Kamaishi, 4-metre waves surmounted the seawall —the world’s largest, erected a few years ago in the city’s harbor at a depth of 63 metres, a length of 2 kilometres and a cost of $1.5 billion — and eventually submerged the city centre.

~ thestar.com

Before and after pictures to see the destruction

Aerial photos taken over Japan have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

Hover over each satellite photo to view the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

~ abc.net.au

60 year old man rescued!

Hiromitsu Shinkawa, 60, was swept 10 miles out to sea, where he floated on the wreckage of his home for two days until a military ship rescued him.

~ nypost.com

Aftershock after aftershock that could be considered full on quakes

According to the agency, there is a 70 per cent chance of another quake in the next three days and a 50 per cent chance of another hitting three days after that because of high tectonic activity.

~ ctv.ca

Volcano erupts in Japan, Mount Fuji is also overdue for eruption

It seems Japan got rocked by every disaster possible: earthquake, tsunami and now volcanoes, all that on top of possibler nuclear meltdown and a cold front for the newly homeless people.

Keep in mind, Mount Fuji’s previous activity suggests that it too is overdue for eruption.

In the last 300 years there has been no eruption. With the past level of activity in mind, you cannot deny that 300 years of repose is pretty long—too long.

~ nationalgeographic.com

Let’s not forget that this is happening northern Japan, and in the midst of winter.

NHK reported that many survivors faced “extreme cold” at night in buildings where heat and fuel were scarce.

As temperatures dropped sharply overnight some shelters struggled to keep people warm, NHK reported.

~ latimes.com

Japan finds another 2,000 more bodies and 10,000 people still unaccounted for

About 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on hardest-hit Miyagi’s Ojika Peninsula and another 1,000 have been spotted in the town of Minamisanriku where the prefectural government has been unable to contact about 10,000 people, or over half the local population.

~ kyodonews.jp

Fukushima Dai ich Reactor 3 also explodes

Fortunately, the nuclear reactor is intact, but as the plants are forced to release radioactive steam, widespread contamination looms.

Pentagon officials reported on Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates — still being analyzed, but presumed to include Cesium-137 and Iodine-121 — suggesting widening environmental contamination.

~ nytimes.com