‘I honestly thought my apartment was going to collapse’

PATRICK McLoughlin, the son of Achill natives, was caught up in the New Year’s Day earthquake in the Japanese city of Kanazawa.

The major earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the richter scale, struck Japan’s west coast on the afternoon of January 1. It caused major infrastructural damage and the deaths of at least 168 people. A further 323 people have been reported missing.

The city of Kanazawa is home to close to half a million people. The capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, on Japan’s central Honshu Island, it is known for its well-preserved historical districts, art museums and regional handicrafts and is a popular tourist destination. Patrick McLoughlin has been living in the city for the last five and a half years, working as a teacher.

“I live near a train line and freight trains tend to make my house shake a little so at the beginning I thought it was a train,” Patrick explains. “However, I quickly realised it was an earthquake so I got under my table and messaged my friends who live here.

“This was in fact a foreshock. About four minutes later the big quake struck. This one came with a warning to all phones [and a] loud siren that shouts ‘Earthquake, Earthquake, take cover’. It is difficult to put into words the feeling and emotions that went through me. It was on a completely different level to anything I have ever experienced.

“My whole apartment – I live on the second story of a two story block – violently shifted back and forth. Everything started to crash down. I honestly thought my apartment was going to collapse and wished for it to stop. It lasted about 30 seconds, which doesn’t seem like a long time but believe me it is endless when filled with nothing but terror.

“I came out from under my table shaking to assess the damage but a few minutes later another one hit so I quickly got back under my table. I was close to tears,” he told The Mayo News on Sunday.

The earthquake was the strongest quake in the region in more than four decades, with Japanese authorities issuing tsunami warnings in the aftermath. Patrick, whose parents Patrick and Mary McLoughlin are natives of Keel and Tonragee, respectively, said that once the quake was over he had to make his way to an evacuation centre because there was a tsunami warning.

“Several aftershocks big enough to shake the school happened during the five hours I spent there,” Patrick recalled.

Sleeping under table

THE aftermath of the quake, he explained, has been catastrophic for the region, which is famed for its classical architecture and landscaped gardens.

A week on from the earthquake, Patrick said the region remains on high alert for aftershocks, and he himself has reverted to sleeping under a table.

“There hasn’t been a night yet that I haven’t been woken up by at least two [aftershocks] as I sleep under a table. I have returned to work like most in Kanazawa, but thousands are displaced up north. The schools that are expected to open on Tuesday for the new term are still being used as evacuation centres.

“We have been told to stay vigilant for another week, as there is the possibility of another massive seven-plus quake. This has been the worst earthquake to hit this region of Japan since records began in 1885. Everyone that I know is filled with anxiety from the aftershocks and the trauma from Monday. It has become difficult for me personally to know when aftershocks finish because I tend to keep shaking myself after them. We all hope the worst has passed but the road to recovery will take years. This was a watershed moment for a lot of people, myself included,” he said.