On the first day of 2024, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Japan, killing at least 57 people and destroying thousands of homes.
This is not the first time the East Asian nation has weathered such a disaster. Japan has been hit by many powerful earthquakes, including one at 9.0 magnitude in 2011 that led to the island country being hit by tsunami waves and prompted a nuclear incident.
But despite this, Japan’s death toll count from earthquakes remains relatively low thanks to the country’s disaster preparation and recovery methods, says Northeastern University professor Daniel Aldrich.
