The powerful earthquake that struck Osaka and neighboring prefectures during Monday's morning rush hour, leaving five people dead and hundreds injured, once again exposed the vulnerability of large urban areas to major quakes. Even though the magnitude 6.1 quake — originating at a depth of 13 km under northern Osaka Prefecture and registering an intensity of up to lower 6 on the Japanese scale of 7 — was much less powerful than the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the 2016 Kumamoto quakes, city functions in many parts of the prefecture were extensively paralyzed, ranging from public transportation to water and gas supply.
It was the highest intensity earthquake to hit Osaka Prefecture since the seismic observation system was established in 1923. But the Meteorological Agency warns that an earthquake of this scale can happen anytime and anywhere in this country — even in areas that are normally not deemed to be quake-prone. The agency has called for vigilance against quakes of similar intensity hitting the area in the coming week. A similar-scale quake hitting Tokyo — which has a much greater concentration of population, buildings and houses — could cause far more damage. The Osaka quake should serve as yet another wake-up call for city administrators across Japan to review their preparedness for disasters.
The quake severely rocked many parts of northern Osaka just before 8 a.m. Monday, partially destroyed hundreds of people's homes and forcing, as of Tuesday morning, roughly 1,700 people to take shelter, many likely overnight. Water and gas supplies remained suspended in some local municipalities and it will take another week or more for gas services to be restored in certain areas. The rupture of underground water pipes in Takatsuki due to the temblor is something that could happen in many other municipalities across the nation where the water infrastructure, built decades ago, is similarly old.