Not to dismiss the suffering of the injured or the families of those whose relatives are missing or dead, but it does seem that the casualties are quite low for an earthquake (and aftershocks) of such magnitude and the following tsunami. Despite the Richter scale rating system, it seems difficult to compare earthquakes with each other directly; the Kantou earthquake was an 8.2 compared to this one at 8.9 and yet the earlier one was significantly more devastating.
Regardless, I am saddened by the destruction caused and will do what I can to help.
Another news item that might have a longer term effect:
Japan to release of radioactive vapor at nuke pant - Yahoo! News