As the Restaurant Shook, Mom Took Care of Her Daughter First, and Staff in Mascot Costumes Attended to Customers... Moment of the Strong Earthquake in Japan

Magnitude 7.6 Earthquake Strikes on New Year's Day
Videos from Various Locations in Ishikawa Prefecture Shared on SNS

On January 1, the first day of 2024, a strong earthquake measuring 7.6 in magnitude struck the Ishikawa Prefecture region in central northern Japan. In relation to this, videos capturing the chaotic moments during the earthquake have been shared widely on social networking services (SNS).

The videos show shelves rattling and moving inside the Aeon Mall in Ishikawa Prefecture, cans rolling on the floor, and people holding onto railings while crouching down. The interior of the building was dark as the lights went out.

The scene of a shopping mall during the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that occurred on January 1st, New Year's Day, on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
[Photo by X]

According to Kyodo News and others on the 2nd, the earthquake measuring 7.6 occurred around 4:10 PM the previous day on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Civilians shared videos taken during the earthquake on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), showing the asphalt floor buckling, buildings collapsing and catching fire, and rivers shaking as if they were seas.

Videos of subway station electronic signboards and restaurant interior lights shaking were also posted online.

A woman eating at a restaurant feels a tremor, showing the image of a mother protecting her child.
Photo by X

A video captured a mother protecting her child during the earthquake while dining at a restaurant. According to the video, the restaurant with several tables began to shake. The woman protected her daughter's head and evacuated the child under the table before looking around.

Comments on the video included, “The mother protecting her child first is amazing,” and “The parent's quick judgment and the child's calm demeanor are impressive.”

On the 1st, when the earthquake occurred, a staff member wearing a mascot costume was calming visitors at Tokyo Disneyland.
[Photo by X]

Citizens protecting their heads with their hands or bags and evacuating as an earthquake occurred in Japan on the 1st.
[Photo by X]

Additionally, videos showed customers covering their heads and evacuating following staff instructions at a shopping mall. Some citizens at the subway station protected their heads with bags. At Tokyo Disneyland, a staff member wearing a mascot costume gestured to calm visitors.

Photos of houses toppled as if their roots were pulled out and cracked buildings were also shared. According to media reports, a netizen who posted a video of fallen utility poles and houses due to the earthquake wrote, “The house is half damaged, the roads are torn apart. Aftershocks are still ongoing. I want to go to a shelter located at a high place, but the roads are cut off.”

Two-story house in Kanazawa toppled by a strong earthquake in Japan
Photo by Kanazawa EPA/ Yonhap News

In areas where water supply was cut off due to the earthquake, residents lined up to receive water distribution.

Meanwhile, although smaller than the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0), this earthquake was larger than the January 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake (7.3), and false information related to it has reportedly been circulating. NHK reported that fake information unrelated to this earthquake, such as videos from the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, is spreading.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned this during a press conference on the morning of the same day, stating, “Such actions must be strictly refrained from.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.