Kumamoto Prefecture was hammered by a massive earthquake this week, yet another reminder of this country¡¯s perch atop the Ring of Fire and the need to remain vigilant and prepared for such temblors.
Too often, the government has focused on the immediate response to such disasters. Equally important is sustained attention to rebuilding not just the structures that have been destroyed, but the psychic and social ties that bind victims to their communities.
Tuesday¡¯s quake was measured at magnitude 7.1, or shindo 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale. At the time of this writing, the death toll had reached 34 victims, and hundreds of others were injured. Twenty-four of the deaths were directly attributable to the earthquake itself; at least three others were killed when a shopping mall in the town of Kashima exploded ¡ª most likely the result of a gas leak ¡ª and collapsed, and five others died when a smokestack at the Nippon Paper Industries mill in?Yatsushiro collapsed.
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