- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,057
- 18,914
On 1 January, a powerful earthquake struck the northern coast of Japan's main island of Honshu. More than 200 people lost their lives, and tens of thousands had to evacuate their homes, with the most extensive damage occurring in Ishikawa Prefecture's Noto Peninsula. When earthquakes occur in Japan, rural areas like Noto, where buildings are older and less quake-proofed, and there's less infrastructure surplus than in big cities, tend to be the hardest hit. Unfortunately, many rural communities rely heavily on tourism to keep their local economies afloat, and strong earthquakes can create a ripple of adverse effects as travellers avoid the region entirely because they're unaware of what areas they can safely travel to without getting in the way of relief operations. This is the position Ishikawa finds itself in. The prefecture still wants travellers to visit and support local merchants, restaurants, hotels, and cultural attractions but avoid areas where extensive recovery projects are ongoing. With that in mind, the official Ishikawa Twitter account is asking potential visitors to refer to a map created by animator and Twitter user @natoriyuichiro, which the Ishikawa government says is a proper representation of the situation as of its 17 January endorsement.
Which parts of Ishikawa are OK to travel to after Noto quake? Government shares guideline map
On January 1, a powerful earthquake struck the northern coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. More than 200 people lost their lives and tens of thousands had to evacuate their homes, with the most extensive damage occurring in Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula. When earthquakes occur in...