Tuesday, August 13, 2024
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Japan’s summer holiday rush continued despite a megaquake advisory, with crowded trains and airports. The warning followed a 7.1 quake off Miyazaki Prefecture.
Japan’s summer holiday season surged into full swing on Saturday, with people traveling to their hometowns, crowding railway stations and airports, despite caution following a weather agency advisory on a potential megaquake.
On Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency released its first-ever advisory warning of a potential megaquake in the Nankai Trough, which lies along the Pacific coast.This advisory came just hours after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan, with its epicenter in waters off Miyazaki Prefecture, near the western edge of the trough.
Despite the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train running at reduced speed in one section in central Japan, causing delays of around 20 minutes, reserved seats for trains departing Tokyo were mostly sold out throughout Saturday.
At Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, seats for domestic flights, including those heading to regions at risk of damage from the potential megaquake, have been nearly fully booked. Following the advisory, tourist accommodations, particularly along the Pacific coast in central and western Japan, have experienced a wave of cancellations. Additionally, some beaches in these areas have been closed, with swimming now prohibited. Local governments report that up to 64 people have sought refuge in evacuation centers in Aichi and Kochi prefectures.
For the Bon holidays, from Friday to August 18, railway operators reported that as of July 25, reserved seats on local and bullet trains were up by approximately 1.2 times compared to last year, while reservations for domestic flights remained roughly the same.
