<figure id="attachment_351912" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351912"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="db03f660"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/7133cb715ee075c55011ee9514559f98.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351912" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A car crushed by a collapsed house. Photo taken on January 2 in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture.</span></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I had an ominous feeling the moment the quake struck.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The photographer for this magazine, who lives in Toyama Prefecture, had become accustomed to the large earthquakes that have frequently occurred in the Hokuriku region since 2000. He also covered the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.  </span>
<p><b>“This is not good.”</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That&#8217;s what I felt right after the quake. I had no reason to ask why. I felt something different from a normal earthquake, and I warned my family, who had gathered at my parent&#8217;s house for the New Year&#8217;s holiday, </span><b>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be big!”</b></p>
<p><b>“Stay down! Get down!”</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In no time at all, the shaking intensified. The TV almost toppled over, and small items on the wardrobe fell out with a thud. The children&#8217;s faces turned pale with fear, and the strong impact, which lasted for about two minutes, made it impossible for them to stand.</span></p>
<h2><b>An unimaginable scene.</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on the evening of New Year&#8217;s Day, 2024, a major earthquake hit a wide area on the Sea of Japan coast from Hokkaido to Kyushu. The epicenter was located about 30 km east-northeast of Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture, with a maximum intensity of 7 degrees. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.6, which is higher than that of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. At least 60 people are said to have died in the quake.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the early morning of January 2, the day after the earthquake, a photographer for this magazine drove from Toyama Prefecture to Ishikawa Prefecture, which was severely damaged. However, they were unable to proceed as far as they wished due to the transportation network being cut off, including roads that had caved in. When they finally arrived at the coastal town of Nanao City in Ishikawa Prefecture just before noon, they were met with an unimaginable scene.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More than a dozen houses had collapsed. Several cars were wrecked. The windows of a convenience store were shattered and merchandise was strewn on the floor.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As of January 2, the full extent of the damage caused by the tsunami, liquefaction, and landslides, which reached up to 5 meters high, was not yet known. There are reports of large fires in several locations in Ishikawa Prefecture, and many people were left behind in collapsed houses or buried alive. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned people to be on the alert for strong aftershocks until around January 10.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This magazine will continue to report damage information from the area as needed.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Collapsed houses, crushed cars...graphic disaster site photos"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_351916" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3996px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351916"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="49a21157"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/e66f2e47ab7824ee4d1a177961332497.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351916" class="wp-caption-text">People at a loss in front of collapsed houses</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351917" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351917"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ba6707e0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/f04c7afc95652ed82856a7fcf81f15c2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351917" class="wp-caption-text">Convenience store windows are cruelly broken and merchandise is scattered.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351918" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351918"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="948a7356"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/efdf9910e9237deee9f4074011418beb.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351918" class="wp-caption-text">Many houses collapsed in Nanao City.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351920" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3060px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351920"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4c0366a4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/f4e18e430a70c92a8ff4890e92302b16.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351920" class="wp-caption-text">Lanterns at a temple were also toppled.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_351922" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351922"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c768a838"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/4998d2f4e3b5b4b42e34a17ebd1ccd18.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351922" class="wp-caption-text">The Noto Peninsula was celebrating the New Year when the massive earthquake struck.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351921" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3060px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351921"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f7c4031c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/4b04791b8e639afaad77fede61c03d69.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351921" class="wp-caption-text">There is no time frame for recovery.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351923" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351923"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9687fbe4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/c627b7284818339681d729969f72e561.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351923" class="wp-caption-text">Houses and cars are still in a state of disrepair. </figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351924" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351924"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="608e3ad7"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/e405a02c0cd8131d27db10317fa20d16.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351924" class="wp-caption-text">Convenience stores are in a miserable state.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_351925" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351925"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3c0e113b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/efdf9910e9237deee9f4074011418beb-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351925" class="wp-caption-text">Houses on the verge of collapse</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_351926" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351926"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bb593d57"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/d6c2a540ed94ecea8ea2747904c26220.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351926" class="wp-caption-text">More than 30 people have died</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_351927" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351927"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="80a27fd1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/4354e4cb5c8a9041ea7fa809ff1d2bb0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351927" class="wp-caption-text">More than 30,000 people are forced to live as evacuees in Ishikawa Prefecture alone</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_351928" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4080px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-351928"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="67ec81fa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/01/9ba7b423cb8a94834429a6cefdf72f79.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-351928" class="wp-caption-text">Many people have been forced to evacuate since New Year&#8217;s Day</figcaption></figure>


 Junpei Kota

 On New Year's Day, a massive earthquake struck the archipelago. The Sea of Japan coast from Hokkaido to Kyushu was severely damaged. A photographer for this magazine, who lives in Toyama Prefecture, was also struck by the quake. He reports on the ominous omens immediately after the quake" and the damage with graphic photos.

Noto Earthquake Report: Graphic Photos of the Gruesome Aftermath

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