It’s been a while since I posted anything, but I felt compelled to do so today.
Osaka is my favorite big city in Japan. I’ve been there many times over the years. It was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake this morning…lots of damage, injuries and three deaths so far. The epicenter was on land, so the damage was severe. The youngest victim was a nine-year-old girl who was crushed by a wall that fell while she was walking on a sidewalk on her way to school. Horror beyond words.
People here are fearful that this quake was just a warning sign of what is yet to come. Their trepidation is based on the fact that a similar situation happened here, where I am, just a couple of days before the East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. We got a big quake on Wednesday, and the ‘big one’ hit on the following Friday. Many of you know the rest of that story.
We are hoping that the worst has already happened, and that Osaka will not experience an even deadlier quake in the wake of the one that happened today.
Despite the tragedy today, I can’t help but be thankful for the fact that we were spared here in Tohoku. I live very far away from Osaka and we didn’t feel any effects of the quake at all.
For those of us who write and dare to delve into the realm of horror fiction, we should always remember that true horror is not fictional, it happens to many people around the world every day.
I ask your prayers for the victims of the Osaka quake today, for their families and for the people of Osaka and the Kansei area of Japan.
Thank you.