On the night of February 13th, just past 11pm, a magnitude 7.1 Earthquake struck the Northeastern coast of Japan. The quake registered as a strong 6 on Japan’s Seismic Intensity Scale, and reached 4 in Tokyo.
While there was no threat of an approaching tsunami, electricity in the Tohoku region was reportedly out until Sunday. Some injuries have also been reported, but fortunately, there were no deaths and everything seems under control as of Monday.
Using the hashtag #地震のせい, Japanese Twitter users shared a few amusing examples of how the recent earthquake affected them.
Those Who Live in Glass Wine Towers…
Some were benign and amusing, like the video below of a host club member fearful for his first-ever self-made wine glass tower.
Textbook Cat
A Twitter user by @archie_jp also tweeted their cat’s reaction to the earthquake, which was, as the user described, a “textbook reaction.”
The Extent of the Damage
Other videos showed how truly powerful the earthquake was felt in the Tohoku region. One video posted by @opi103 showed footage of a Sendai news station during the earthquake. The shaking was so intense that documents were falling to the floor, and the camera person had to brace themself to stay upright.
One famous manga artist and figurine collector also reported that they had suffered damages due to the earthquake. Manabe Joji, the creator of Caravan Kidd and the Outlanders, tweeted out a video of their collection right as it was happening.
The Aftermath
There were several aftershocks in the hours after, all centering around the Northeastern seaboard. The earthquake itself was apparently an “aftershock” of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The government has come out warning people to be careful of continuing aftershocks and has urged citizens to stay sharp.
Japan is an intensely natural disaster-prone nation, which is why planning for them is so key, especially for the Olympics. And with the possibility of another large-scale earthquake predicted to strike the Kanto region in the next few decades, it becomes less a safety precaution and more a necessity as time goes on.
If you or a loved one are currently living in Japan, be sure to make an emergency bag with water, food, medical supplies, and important documents so you can evacuate at any time. Be sure to keep an eye on larger furniture and secure them down to prevent toppling over and causing injuries (or breaking your prized figurine collection.)
