Special course on disaster prevention spurs Kobe survivor's mission to teach others
Early on the morning of Jan. 17, 1995, Kurumi Kishimoto was awakened abruptly by "earth-rumbling sounds" like something she had never experienced. Her family's seventh-floor apartment in Kobe's Hyogo Ward was shaken violently, with dishes falling from the shelves. As dawn was breaking, Kishimoto ...
Shaken by Kobe quake, Peruvian works to help Hyogo's Spanish speakers in times of disaster
Roxana Oshiro, a Peruvian of Japanese descent, came to Japan in 1991 and was living in a dormitory in Kobe with her husband and child when the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit the region in 1995. After a violent jolt, she desperately kicked the door open ...
Preparing for the worst: How Tokyo will respond to an Olympic quake
It's 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, July 26, and excitement is building at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre as the first swimming medals go up for grabs. Nearby at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, U.S. superstar Simone Biles is warming up for her first appearance of the ...
Government-funded annual memorial ceremonies for March 2011 disasters to end in 2021
Government-funded memorial services each year commemorating the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami will end in 2021, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the massive disaster, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe concluded that he should determine the course for ...
Dozens of demonstrators gathered Monday in front of the governor's mansion in Puerto Rico's capital to demand the resignation of the U.S. territory's governor and protest the recent discovery of apparently forgotten disaster supplies amid ongoing earthquakes. The scene reminded many of the beginning of ...
A strong earthquake struck China's far west Xinjiang region Sunday night, the government earthquake agency said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The China Earthquake Networks Center reported that a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the region at 9:21 p.m. at a depth ...
Puerto Rican emergency management director fired after unused supplies found
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez fired the director of the island's emergency management agency Saturday after the discovery of a warehouse filled with water, cots and other supplies as the U.S. territory struggles to recover from a strong earthquake. Vazquez said the inaction of Carlos ...
Memories from the Great Hanshin Earthquake still resonate 25 years later
On the morning of Jan. 17, 1995, I was jolted awake in my Kyoto apartment by the largest earthquake I'd ever experienced. The glass windows shook violently, but thankfully didn't break. Before going back to bed, I turned on the TV I'd pulled out of ...
Kobe marks quarter century since Great Hanshin Earthquake killed thousands
Kobe and the surrounding area on Friday morning marked a quarter century since the Great Hanshin Earthquake devastated the region, killing 6,434 people in what was then Japan's worst postwar natural disaster. Survivors, their family members — including many who were born long after the ...
25 years after Kobe quake, SDF respected and volunteerism still strong
As Kobe commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake that took the lives of more than 6,400 people, the city and region are working to remind younger generations of the past devastation — and the importance of disaster-preparedness — even as they ...
Disaster response poses an ongoing challenge in this calamity-prone country.
'Fun disaster' drills catching on across Japan, 25 years after Kobe quake
Disaster prevention initiatives with entertaining twists are becoming popular as the nation marks a quarter century since the Great Hanshin Earthquake on Friday. The citizen-led "fun disaster" programs seek to pass on the lessons of solidarity and mutual assistance learned from the 1995 quake that ...
