According to the NASA Earth Observatory, at 4:10 p.m. (Japan Standard Time) on the first day of 2024, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook and lurched the ground of Japan's Noto Peninsula in the northwestern Honshu region for nearly a minute, followed by dozens of strong aftershocks in the ensuing days.
Shaking was felt as far away as Tokyo, 300 miles southeast of the earthquake's epicenter. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Ishikawa Prefecture since 1885 and the strongest earthquake to hit mainland Japan since 2011. Damage from the shaking and an accompanying tsunami was most intense in the towns of Suzu, Noto, Anamizu, and Wajima. Infrastructure damage led to fires that burned through communities, causing further damage; heavy snow after the earthquake complicated emergency responses.
As of February 28, the death toll from the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake stood at 241 with 12 people still missing, all in Ishikawa Prefecture; an additional 1,296 injuries in six other prefectures makes this earthquake Japan's most destructive since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. As of the end of February, over 10,000 people still remain in evacuation centers. The Japanese government calculates an infrastructure damage total of 1.1 trillion to 2.6 trillion yen ($7.44 billion to $17.59 billion in US dollars).
The Japanese government continues recovery efforts in Ishikawa quietly and ploddingly, but little attention is being paid outside of Japan. Had this been Tokyo or Kyoto, it is quite likely that there would still be mainstream media agencies on the ground.
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Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
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"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.
