Japan Opens 2024 With Two National Disasters
Here’s to a better rest of the year for the nation.
Japan starts the year 2024 with two big bangs.
The Earthquake
On January 1, a powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck central Japan, resulting in dozens of fatalities, destroying buildings, and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes.
The quake triggered waves of about 1 meter along Japan’s west coast, and the Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a major tsunami warning, which was later downgraded to an advisory. The earthquake was the strongest in the region in more than four decades.
On the same day, tsunami waves struck Japan’s coastal regions after a series of strong earthquakes on its western side. People were ordered to evacuate following a total of 21 quakes with a magnitude above 4.0. Dozens of fatalities were reported, and tens of thousands of people were forced to flee to higher ground.
The Japanese government ordered more than thousands of people in nine areas to evacuate, and spend the night in sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centers in emergencies.
The Plane
On January 2, 2024, a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350–900 aircraft caught fire after colliding with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
The incident occurred when the JAL plane, which was carrying 379 passengers and 12 crew members, landed on one of the airport’s runways.
The collision happened because the JAL plane veered off course and collided with the Coast Guard plane, which was parked on the runway
The Airbus A350–900 aircraft ignited, leaving a fiery trail down the runway.
All passengers and crew from the JAL plane were evacuated safely before the fire spread to the aircraft. Unfortunately, 5 crew members from the Coast Guard aircraft were killed in the incident.
The Coast Guard plane was at Haneda airport to aid the victims of the big earthquake the day before.
The collision and subsequent fire raised concerns about safety procedures and communication between aviation control officials at the airport
However, Japan Airlines was praised for taking appropriate procedures to safely evacuate all passengers and crew.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people who, just days ago, celebrated the coming of 2024.
