The Whole Country is trembled; Over 1,000 Quakes Recorded

5 years after the Tohoku Great Earthquake that killed more than 15,000 people, on April 14, magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Southern Japan, and in the two weeks a magnitude 7.3 temblor has occurred in Kumamoto prefecture in Southern Japan.

1,000 aftershocks have been reported so far, and 30,000 people are sheltering at evacuation centers in Kumamoto. The Japanese government has decided to assure 4,200 temporary housing, by using 36.6 billion Japanese yen (equivalent to 344 million US dollars.)

50 people were died, and more than 1,000 people were injured in the earthquake. About 100 people have been diagnosed with or considered to have economy class syndrome which is caused by long term inaction. 16 people are assumed to have died due to illness caused by stress and despair which stem from the quake. In addition, more people are being suffered from PTSD.

Although it seems like this happened was not reported very much here in the US, the US Osprey aircraft has been helping with relief efforts by showing cooperation between the Japanese military.

Many of you may never have experienced earthquake, but Japan often has quake and there have been a lot of specialists who insist that Western and Eastern Japan also are going to be hit by very strong earthquake in the near future. The whole country is terrified by possibly bigger quakes that are expected to occur.

Aileen Echelberger says:

April 30, 2016 at 11:57 am

The government and people of Japan have to deal with severe earthquakes as an expected part of life, and it is interesting to ponder the question of what might happen if these quakes end up displacing people in mass numbers. The example of United States Osprey aircraft helping in the recovery process after damage has been done is a good example of international cooperation and alliance, but I wonder what relationships will look like in the future if a bigger and more destructive quake hits. Will international relationships and ties be strong enough?
Another question I have is- will people have to leave Japan in large numbers? And if so, where will they go? An environmentally-caused mass exodus could be in the future for many countries, with sea levels rising and terrain changing over the years. Where will these people go? How will their ability to seek asylum compare with that of political refugees? Environmental refugees will likely increase in numbers, and I’m sure there will be disparity in the types of reception different groups and demographics receive. Perhaps certain countries will form stronger partnerships and create a conduit for environmental migration, or maybe there will be a more scattered diaspora to various countries. Perhaps a strong constituency will also want to try sticking it out in their home countries and simply adapting to the new environmental challenges. They would need a strong and flexible infrastructure to do so, however. With the aging population of Japan and the dwindling workforce, this option may prove difficult for the country.