Victims Mourned 8 Years after Massive Quake in Hokkaido

Atsuma, Hokkaido, Sept. 5 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held in the town of Atsuma, Hokkaido, on Saturday, a day before the eighth anniversary of a deadly earthquake that hit the northernmost Japan prefecture. Participants observed a moment of silence and offered flowers to the victims. The quake, which occurred at 3:07 a.m. Sept. 6, 2018, left a total of 44 people dead, including 37 in Atsuma, where a seismic intensity of 7, the highest level on the Japanese scale, was recorded. While citing a series of disasters that have hit Japan, such as a powerful earthquake in the southwestern prefecture Kumamoto in July this year, Atsuma Mayor Shoichiro Miyasaka said at the ceremony, “We will utilize the lessons we learned from the (2018) disaster to protect lives and rebuild our community in which people support each other.” Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki said that he will work hard on making Hokkaido a place where people can live with peace of mind. A stand for floral tributes was set up Tuesday in the town’s Yoshino district, where 19 people were killed by landslides triggered by the earthquake. At noon Sunday, Miyasaka and others will offer prayers and flowers at a cenotaph erected at a park near the Atsuma town office building. More than 2,300 residential buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged by the Hokkaido earthquake. Of the total fatalities, three died due to indirect causes related to the disaster. The temblor caused power plant suspensions, leading to Japan’s first large-scale blackout, with some 2.95 households across Hokkaido suffering power outages. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]