Separated by thousands of miles but as close as the click of a mouse or a television screen, images of the devastation in Japan struck home in Pike County on Friday.

We watched in stunned silence as the nation and its people were shook by a devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake. And then, we watched as they were innundated by the tsunami that followed.

The visuals of burning buildings surrounded by muddy floodwaters were apocolyptic and frightening.

Here in Pike County, a scattering of residents with family and friends in Japan, Hawaii and on the West Coast worried until they could make contact and make sure their loved ones had escaped harm in the disaster.

As aftershocks continued, officials in Japan tried to assess the damage, both in loss of life and infastructure. But how do you put a price on a castrophe?

In the days, weeks and months ahead, the people of Japan will need our help. They will need prayers. They will need food, water, supplies to life. They will need supplies and aid to rebuild their cities and their lives. They will need our support.

We must do what we can to reach out across the thousands of miles, across the ocean, to help them rebuild and overcome this devastating tragedy.

It is the call of humanity.