With all the uncertainty and doomsday-scenario talk we've been getting on the news, it's sometimes informative to step back and put things in perspective.

ABC News and Google have teamed up to show aerial photos taken over Japan.  These photos reveal the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

A powerful 8.9 earthquake shook Japan at 2:46 pm on Friday, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in its history. It's the fifth-largest earthquake ever recorded.

IRIS, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, maintains images, maps, and other information in downloadable powerpoint slide presentations.  This presents a great, quick way to learn about and discuss the magnitude 8.9 Japan earthquake and associated tsunami.

From cnn.com:

The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in at least 100 years struck offshore the island nation on Friday, collapsing buildings, touching off widespread fires and unleashing walls of water up to 30 feet high.