Heartbreaking earthquakes and tsunami have been inflicting damage upon a lot of nations, thus threatening their safety. They have been causing enormous impact especially in Japan where groundbreaking, massive earthquake hit Tohoku, Japan with magnitude 9.0 in March 11, 2011. Ever since then, Japanese citizens have been deeply concerned about the vulnerable and unsteady state of Japan as big and small earthquakes still continue to shake the nation.

“We watched a video in AP Environmental Science about earthquakes and tsunamis hit Japan five years ago. It was devastating,” senior Francis Chen said.

Another 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Hoshu Island in Japan on November 21st; it was a massive one that triggered tsunami wave in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures and brought back the traumatic memories of 2011. The news is devastating because major earthquakes have all taken place in those specific areas where the recovery effort is still in progress.

Although the Japanese still shiver thinking about potential threats such as huge earthquake, ensuing tsunami, explosion of nuclear power plants and high levels of radiation in the atmosphere, their spirits of hope do not seem to die off easily.

“I was in Tokyo, Japan for my family trip when I actually experienced the record-breaking earthquake in March 2011. I still clearly remember how everyone was patient and caring even at the very moment of chaos and confusion. After the earthquake, I saw a bunch of people wearing ‘Pray for Japan’ t-shirts which showed that they were not going to lose hope in their country,” senior Sarah Shin said.

Five years have passed since the deadliest earthquake in Japan on March 11 and reconstruction jobs have been taking care of the shattered pieces of Japan ever since then. However, there are still countless number of people who are deprived of their families, food, and shelter in the most damaged place from the disaster. Donations have been made in both national and international scale in order to aid them: the world is tied with a string of hope.

Photo obtained via Nora Hickey under a Creative Commons license