The "after" pictures are in a different tint or colour scheme which means they are biased (or rather, you are biased by the colours like the missing green). Bad comparison.
I could be spatially challenged enough to not really see it, as the imagery is lacking perspective, but these pictures aren't much after seeing the video footage of the waves rolling in. <i>That</i> was a much starker (re-)realization of their power, similar to 2004.<p>Perhaps images from a helicopter or high ground would be more evocative.
Apparently the earthquake moved the whole island by about 8 meters!<p>I wonder how that's going to affect GPS maps. 8 meters is enough to put you in a different street on your map.<p>Edit: Oops. 2.4 meters, about 8 feet.