Vietnamese people recount panic amid earthquake in Japan

The loud alarm on his phone woke Duc Phu up, and he realized the building he was in was shaking violently.

After working on New Year's Day, Duc Phu, a restaurant intern in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, returned to his apartment on the 7th floor to catch up on sleep. Around 4 p.m. on January 1, Phu woke up because he felt a slight tremor, but saw that his phone had not yet sent a warning signal, so he continued sleeping.

Moments later, a second tremor struck, the strongest of the approximately 155 earthquakes that struck western Japan on the first day of 2024. At this moment, Phu's phone rang loudly, sending out an emergency warning of a magnitude 7.6 earthquake.

"The building I was in shook so hard that it scared me to death. The alarm bell made me even more panicked. I could only hold on to the wall and chant Buddha's name," Phu told VnExpress .

The tremors stopped, Phu rushed out of the house, but the elevator stopped working, forcing him to run down the fire escape from the 7th floor to the ground.

Phu ran out into the street and saw many people gathered outside in panic, because of the continuous tremors that occurred every 20-30 minutes. When the ground stopped "dancing", Phu ventured upstairs, grabbed important documents and essential items, stuffed them into his bag, and rushed back out into the street.

The day the earthquake hit Japan — Violent tremors as earthquake hits Japan on January 1. Video : *Reuters, Kyodo, ANN*

In Houdatsu Shimizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, a major tremor struck while Tran Thi Trang, 34, was shopping at the supermarket. Feeling the ground shake, Trang panicked, thinking "I'm going to die." A few seconds later, she regained her composure and rushed to the parking lot where her husband and young child were waiting. The distance from the supermarket door to the parking lot was only a few dozen meters, but it was difficult to walk because the ground kept shaking.

"I was running and hearing screams in my ears. Many people around me fell down and couldn't stand. The parked cars were tilting as if they were about to flip over," she recalled. "When we got there, I couldn't get into the car right away. I had to hold on to the door handle to stop the shaking. When I got into the car with my husband and children, my whole body was shaking with fear."

After a series of strong tremors, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a tsunami warning for Ishikawa and four neighboring provinces. Trang's family immediately drove home.

The country’s TV stations immediately switched to special programming. Along the way, the couple received repeated warnings and saw many people driving in the opposite direction to the shelter, but they still decided to go home to collect some essentials.

The local shelter is a school, but it is close to the sea and cannot avoid the tsunami. Trang’s family and many local people had to move to higher ground.

Location of Ishikawa prefecture and tsunami warning areas in Japan. Graphics: CNN — Location of Ishikawa prefecture and tsunami warning areas in Japan. Graphics: *CNN*

Meanwhile, Duc Phu in Kanazawa contacted the company and took refuge with his colleagues. They rushed to the convenience stores and saw many local people lining up.

"I've been in Japan for 6 years and never seen anything like this, so I followed the Japanese, thinking they would know what to do," Phu said. He and his colleagues then took refuge at the company director's house, 7 km away. Work at the restaurant had to be put on hold because all the dishes were broken.

Japanese officials confirmed today that at least 48 people were killed in the earthquake, and the death toll could continue to rise. Tsunami warnings have been lifted, but at least six strong tremors were recorded this morning.

JIMA warned that there could be more earthquakes this week, especially in the next 2-3 days. Ishikawa Prefecture rarely experiences earthquakes, and even many elderly people living there said they have never experienced such strong shaking. "Even the director is confused, just saying we will have to adapt to the situation," Phu said.

Trang's family arrived home at around 8:00 p.m. and had prepared all necessities, ready to evacuate by car at any time there was a warning.

A woman returns to her house destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, June 2. Photo: AFP — A woman returns to her house destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake in Suzu, Ishikawa prefecture, June 2. Photo: *AFP*

"My family has a car, but interns and international students without vehicles will face more difficulties," said Trang, an interpreter and administrator of a Vietnamese group in the Hokuru region including the three provinces of Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui, adding that the locality has about 200 Vietnamese people.

Hoang Quan, an intern in Wajima, a city that recorded a lot of damage in Ishikawa prefecture, was lucky to escape after traveling to Hakusan to celebrate the new year with friends.

The tremor occurred while a group of friends were having a New Year's Eve dinner, causing the hot pot to fall over. Quan later received a call from the company, informing him that the house in Wajima had collapsed.

"I have to stay at my friend's house and don't dare go back to my hometown. Work is temporarily suspended. Everything is very uncertain right now. I just hope there won't be any more tremors in the near future," he said.