Earthquake Devastates Kumamoto Again

Major quake hit Kumamoto again. An earthquake with degree 7 of seismic intensity shook Kumamoto and other cities on July 28th, causing a number of deaths and injuries. A lot of families had to evacuate broken houses in extremely hot and humid summer days and nights. Although major earthquake was anticipated by some experts, it was not easy to be ready for natural disaster. 

The earthquake occurred on 4:27 p.m. with 7.1-magnitude. Seismic center was 16 kilometers underground of Kumamoto city, Kumamoto. It was reported that 12 died, 6 are in cardiac arrest and 4 are missed at the time of 9 p.m. on July 29th. Nearly 10 thousand people evacuated and over 50 thousand houses lost water service. Blackout spread to over 40 thousand houses.

 

Unknown number of the people are captured under broken houses and ambulances keep on sending injured people to the hospitals which do not have sufficient capacity for caring them. Nuclear Regulation Authority announced that no extraordinary phenomenon was found in nuclear power plants of Sendai in Kagoshima, Genkai in Saga and Ikata in Ehime.

 

An explosion occurred in a large shopping mall in suburb of Kumamoto an hour and half after the earthquake. Although most people in the building had evacuated, at least two people died with explosion. The building was blown away. It is possible that leaking of gas by the earthquake caused explosion. A big chimney of paper mill run by Nippon Paper in Yatsushiro city was broken down to the ground. At least five died in the factory.

 

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi launched emergency headquarters on disaster in the government of Japan for the first time since Noto Earthquake in 2024. She ordered urgent measures to the staffs, including grasping significance of damages, making best effort for saving lives and offering information necessary for evacuation. Japan Self-defense Force was dispatched to Kumamoto for disaster management.

 

Kumamoto suffered from two major earthquakes in 2016. 28 hours after 6.5-magnitude earthquake, 7.3-magnitude struck again. They occurred in Futagawa fault running from east to west underground of Kumamoto city. And there is another one called Hinago fault, extending to the southward from Kumamoto city area. It is supposed that southern part of Hinago fault, which had not been affected ten years ago, made horizontal move this time. Experts analyzed that distortion of power was generated by the earthquakes in 2016.

 

But no one could predict this earthquake before it really occurred. No one had taken a preventive measure for explosion in shopping mall or breakdown of chimney in a paper mill. The government of Japan considers how to reduce damage of possible Nankai Trough Great Earthquake or Earthquake underground of Tokyo metropolitan area. The Diet enacted a law for establishing Disaster Management Agency in recent session. Disaster prevention needs certain cost. Ultimate choice is further economic growth or disaster prevention which may put pressure on business.

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