On January 9, a magnitude six earthquake struck off the Sea of Japan coast, rattling the identical a part of the nation the place an enormous tremor on New Year’s Day and its aftershocks triggered widespread destruction and killed greater than 200 individuals. Tuesday’s earthquake, nonetheless, didn’t set off a tsunami warning by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

On January 1, Japan skilled a 7.5 magnitude earthquake with its epicentre close to Noto on the Japan Sea Coast. The serene and quiet neighbourhoods of Ishikawa prefecture and its close by areas felt a 4.9 magnitude aftershock, trapping individuals beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. New Year is when the youthful era returns dwelling to spend time with their elders, a time-honoured custom.

For 33-year-old Seiko Tsuruta, a pupil at Kyoto University, it ought to have been a contented day to spend together with her family members.

“I live in Takaoka city in Toyama, and we were there with my family and my husband’s relatives when the earthquake hit us. It was New Year’s Day, and all the relatives including small children were gathered at my grandmother-in-law’s old house to exchange greetings. Suddenly, the house began to rattle and shake, and the tremors gradually grew louder. The TV broadcast an earthquake early warning message, and we learned that a major earthquake had occurred in the neighbouring prefecture of Ishikawa.”

“The tremors have been probably the most violent I had ever skilled, and I couldn’t instantly determine what to do. After the tremors subsided, we have been calmly evacuated outdoors. Our neighbours had additionally come out of their houses and a passing driver requested us if she ought to go to an evacuation centre. We replied, “We also don’t know (the situation),” Tsuruta recalled.

Her children were anxious — this was the first major earthquake they had experienced. “My son started to cry after so many tremors,” she said.

A frame on the wall scattering glass all over the room. Other than that, her family home did not face too much damage.

Others were not so lucky.

The 7.5 magnitude quake destroyed and toppled buildings, and caused a major blaze that razed down buildings and knocked out infrastructure on the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s main island Honshu. Ishikawa regional authorities released figures on January 9 showing that 202 people were confirmed dead in the New Year’s Day disaster, AFP reported.

Several remain missing or untraced. Heavy snow in places complicated relief efforts. At the start of the week, almost 30,000 people were living in around 400 government shelters, some of which were packed and struggling to provide adequate food, water and heating. Almost 60,000 households were without running water and 15,600 had no electricity supply, the news agency stated.

According to pre- and post-earthquake data released by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the cities of Wajima, Anamizu, Suzu and Notojima may have shifted to the west.

Abha Joshi, 25, who is studying MBA currently at the Graduate Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, was scared. Her messages on Facebook marked herself safe to inform her friends and family. “I am safe and sound,” she wrote although she was scared.

“I have been here for a year now and have experienced earthquakes thrice before this with a maximum tremor of 3 on the Richter scale, but this one was the most dangerous and we were immediately asked to evacuate our college. Once we were at the evacuation centre, we were taken care of properly,” she said via FB messenger.

Ishikawa resident artist Hirotake Imanishi was trying to get in touch with his students in Nakanoto town in Ishikawa prefecture. “I was in the Kansai region, and it was horrific to hear of an earthquake of this scale hitting my prefecture, with its epicentre in the Noto Peninsula. It is a very narrow peninsula and the main roads became impassable due to cracks and bumps. Relief supplies were nowhere to be found moments after the earthquake. Many of my friends in the disaster area still have their phones turned off to conserve battery power,” he said.

Although virtually everybody was evacuated to elementary faculties and neighborhood centres, with water vans and meals distribution, many have been nonetheless ready to be rescued from collapsed buildings, with energy and mobile phone service nonetheless down in some areas.

“Living in Japan, often called earthquake land, we get used to earthquakes. Kindergarten onwards we are taught earthquake and fire drills as often as possible,” mentioned Hideko Towaji (45) a part-time employee in Osaka.

Yuichi Ono, Professor, Ph.D.(Geography) on the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku, Sendai, mentioned, “There is no safe zone in Japan, an earthquake can happen in any place. It has become a way of living with it.”

“The Japanese government has in place all the necessary evacuation and first responders in place but the weather can also affect the rescue operations, as it can be seen in the current situation at Ishikawa with heavy snowfall affecting the rescue missions,” he said, adding that their institute began training counsellors and doctors to help people after the rescue operations to deal with earthquake-related shocks and loss of life.

“We learned a lot from the March 11, 2011 earthquake. So this time many people were able to evacuate when they heard the very first Tsunami alarm,” Hideko, who was travelling to Tokyo, mentioned. “The Shinkansen (bullet train) stopped for 30 minutes due to a power outage and I thought I would be stuck inside overnight, but we were there for less time. Luckily, I had a spare battery and some snacks and water with me, hence I could reach out to my husband and children,” he added.

The 2011 earthquake happened in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. The Japanese refer to it as the Great East Japan Earthquake.

For Mizuho Takahashi, a resident of Tokyo, earthquakes are now a normal occurrence. “We, Japanese, are used to earthquakes. I have experienced many earthquakes since I was a child and have been training for them. We have been taught evacuation drills since elementary school. When an earthquake occurs, we quickly hide under our desks. If we are outside, we check our surroundings and move to a larger area or a safe building. The government has taken measures to prepare for earthquakes and preparing us for tsunamis or avalanches,” mentioned Mizuho.

“I’m used to small earthquakes. But it’s scary when a large-scale earthquake like this happens,” Takahashi added.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants should brace for additional earthquakes. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning that earthquake-stricken areas are prone to expertise highly effective tremors with an depth of higher 5 or extra on the Japanese scale in February. JMA official Shinya Tsukada informed a press convention {that a} quake as highly effective because the 7.6-magnitude one on January 1 is much less prone to happen, however there’s continued seismic exercise. He additionally warned of elevated threat of constructing collapses and landslides, calling on individuals to not enter harmful locations when partaking in restoration efforts.