On the 14th, in a gymnasium in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan, people who evacuated from the 7.3 earthquake that occurred the previous day gather. Tents are erected at intervals of about 2 meters for fear of the spread of Corona 19. SOMA/AP Yonhap News
“There were two shakes that seemed to push up. I thought it was dangerous as it was 10 years ago, so I loaded my luggage with my husband and daughter and evacuated. I want to see the situation here for the time being.” A housewife living in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan fled to a high ground in fear of a tsunami (tsunami) in the early morning of the 14th. Their families, whose homes were completely destroyed during the Great East Japan Earthquake 10 years ago, reported that the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that “there will be no tsunami damage,” but they had evacuated for safety. A male office worker living in the same town also packed up and climbed to a high ground. He said in the newspaper, “There will be no tsunami damage, but I can’t believe it. He said, “I was defied 10 years ago, so I used it as a lesson and avoided it.” Ishinomaki City is the place where 3,500 people died from the tsunami during the 2011 earthquake. A strong earthquake of 7.3 (a scale of elastic energy during an earthquake) that occurred late on the night of the holiday forced the Tohoku and Kanto regions to stay through the night of fear. In particular, Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures were places that were hit by a direct hit during the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the fear of citizens was even greater. The earthquake occurred in the waters off Fukushima Prefecture at 11:8 p.m. on Saturday the 13th, and the largest shaking of the “six rivers” in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures was observed. Although strong earthquakes occurred in Kumamoto (2016) and Hokkaido (2018) recently, the time, intensity, and location of the earthquake all reminded us of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Said the atmosphere that the residents of Fukushima responded by saying, “What happened during the (East Japan) earthquake hit my head” and “The shaking is greater than 10 years ago”.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said about this earthquake, “You can think of it as the aftershock of the huge earthquake that caused the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.” Quoting an expert, “The mechanism is very similar to the aftershock that occurred one month after the Great East Japan Earthquake.” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a ministerial meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo this morning, “Please prepare for an earthquake with a maximum intensity of 6 for the next week.” Self-employed people, who were already struggling with Corona 19, are in despair as they overlapped with a strong earthquake. A man who runs a liquor store in Miyagi prefecture told (NHK), “It’s really distressing to see an earthquake like this when sales fall due to corona.” The earthquake continued for several minutes in Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa Prefectures. Injured people also appeared in various places. As a result of the count, it was found that 150 people, including 78 in Fukushima Prefecture and 55 in Miyagi Prefecture, were injured in the earthquake. As the shaking was great, a woman in her 60s living in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, fell off the stairs of her house and suffered a major injury, breaking her leg. There were cases where the closet fell and injured, the glass was broken and smashed, and some residents fell off the bed and injured their shoulders. Mitsukoshi and Isetan Holdings, one of Japan’s leading department store brands, announced on the 14th that it will temporarily suspend business in Mitsukoshi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Distributor Aeon also decided to temporarily close some marts in Fukushima Prefecture. Due to the earthquake, operation of 13 thermal power plants in the Tohoku region was also stopped. By Kim So-yeon, staff reporter [email protected]