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▼ Kumamoto Marks Decade Since Deadly Quakes
- Category:Event
The southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of a deadly earthquake, the more intensive of a pair of back-to-back quakes that hit the region and claimed the lives of over 270 people.
Families and others observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the deceased at 1:25 a.m., the time when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck a decade ago following a M6.5 temblor two days prior.
A commemoration ceremony aimed at passing on lessons learned from the disaster to next generation and striving for the recovery of local communities was held in the city of Kumamoto, hosted jointly for the first time by the prefectural government and all the prefecture's local municipalities.
"We must never forget the precious lives lost and the many sacrifices made," Kumamoto Gov Takashi Kimura said at the ceremony. "We shall pass these memories on to the next generation, ensuring that they never fade."
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara pledged at the ceremony efforts to turn the disaster-prone Japan into "the world's most disaster-resilient country" by leveraging the experiences and lessons learned from past disasters.
A total of 278 deaths have been attributed to the quakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, with 223 of them -- about 80 percent of the total -- attributed to indirect causes such as illness and stress stemming from disrupted lives.
More than 43,000 buildings were damaged, and at the peak of the crisis, around 196,000 people were forced to evacuate.
The disaster also shed light on issues like sleeping in cars during prolonged evacuation and its impact on health.
The twin quakes, both measuring the highest reading of 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, inflicted serious damage to infrastructure as well, with Aso Ohashi Bridge in the village of Minamiaso collapsing and a JR Kyushu railway line severed.
Shinobu Yamato, 58, visited a site near the bridge where her 22-year-old son Hikaru was killed in a landslide.
"It fills me with such agony and regret to think that he might have made it without passing through here had the timing been slightly different," she said in tears.
Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination, sustained significant damage including to its famous stone walls. Ongoing repair work of the landmark is expected to be completed in fiscal 2052.
Families and others observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the deceased at 1:25 a.m., the time when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck a decade ago following a M6.5 temblor two days prior.
A commemoration ceremony aimed at passing on lessons learned from the disaster to next generation and striving for the recovery of local communities was held in the city of Kumamoto, hosted jointly for the first time by the prefectural government and all the prefecture's local municipalities.
"We must never forget the precious lives lost and the many sacrifices made," Kumamoto Gov Takashi Kimura said at the ceremony. "We shall pass these memories on to the next generation, ensuring that they never fade."
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara pledged at the ceremony efforts to turn the disaster-prone Japan into "the world's most disaster-resilient country" by leveraging the experiences and lessons learned from past disasters.
A total of 278 deaths have been attributed to the quakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, with 223 of them -- about 80 percent of the total -- attributed to indirect causes such as illness and stress stemming from disrupted lives.
More than 43,000 buildings were damaged, and at the peak of the crisis, around 196,000 people were forced to evacuate.
The disaster also shed light on issues like sleeping in cars during prolonged evacuation and its impact on health.
The twin quakes, both measuring the highest reading of 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, inflicted serious damage to infrastructure as well, with Aso Ohashi Bridge in the village of Minamiaso collapsing and a JR Kyushu railway line severed.
Shinobu Yamato, 58, visited a site near the bridge where her 22-year-old son Hikaru was killed in a landslide.
"It fills me with such agony and regret to think that he might have made it without passing through here had the timing been slightly different," she said in tears.
Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination, sustained significant damage including to its famous stone walls. Ongoing repair work of the landmark is expected to be completed in fiscal 2052.
- 19:45
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