7.1-Quake Damages Kumamoto Castle, Killing Nearly 36 in Japan
Updated
Updated · Smithsonian Magazine · Aug 3
7.1-Quake Damages Kumamoto Castle, Killing Nearly 36 in Japan
3 articles · Updated · Smithsonian Magazine · Aug 3
Summary
Nearly three dozen people were killed after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Kyushu island, with Kumamoto hit hardest and more people injured or missing.
Kumamoto Castle suffered heavy damage as stone walls partially collapsed, adding fresh destruction to a 400-year-old landmark already under long-term repair.
Officials also reported a shopping mall explosion, a toppled factory chimney and widespread housing damage in the city.
The new damage could delay a restoration project already expected to run until 2052 after the castle was battered by a deadly 7.3-magnitude quake in 2016.
Beyond the crumbling 400-year-old walls, what hidden vulnerabilities did the 7.1-magnitude quake expose in Kumamoto's supposedly resilient infrastructure?
After surviving wartime sieges and the 2016 disaster, will this new 7.1-magnitude earthquake permanently shatter Kumamoto Castle's centuries-old legacy?