Japan Earthquake - aftermath

So today is the two-week mark for the historic earthquake followed by a giant 23 foot tsunami waves that hit Japan and life is far from normal there.  Many towns are virtually ghost towns now either because of the initial earthquake destroying their homes, the follow-up tsunami flooding or washing away their homes and businesses and finally many are empty now because of the radiation fears from the damaged nuclear plant's and their ongoing meltdown issues.

I read that Richard Gross, a geophysicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge reported that this disaster is as a biblical scene; the earth has shifted it's axis about 6.5 inches and has shifted the coastline of Japan by about 8 feet.  The quake also should have caused the earth to rotate somewhat faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds.  Other scientists have said that down the road, data from the quake will provide an unusually precise view of how Earth and how it is deforming during massive earthquakes at sites where one plate is sliding under another, including the US Pacific Northwest.

To view an incredible collection of images of Japan before and after the events go to these two links:
Japan Quake; Before and After - First Presentation
Japan Quake; Before and After - Second Presentation