For one quake survivor, self-help in the face of seeming helplessness

Most of the dozens of tsunami-battered towns along Japan's northeastern coast remain mired in mud, but the situation in Ishinomaki is a bit different. Nearly a week after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit the city of 162,000, large portions remain underwater, an instant lake clearly visible on NASA satellite photographs.

By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times

March 17, 2011