Earthquake in New Zealand

by Yuka Nakamura
(Tokyo, Japan)

When I hear the name of New Zealand, first of all, I conceive the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.

The Christchurch earthquake was a very powerful disaster and damaged big cities in New Zealand. The Christchurch Cathedral fell down, and the biggest liquefaction happened in Christchurch. In addition, the water supply was cut off and electric power failure broke out in many places in the city.

Many people who came from all over the world were killed, and 28 Japanese people died in this earthquake.

The main reason why I thought of the earthquake is that I’m from Toyama City. Half of the Japanese victims were students of the Toyama College of Foreign Languages in Toyama City.

After the earthquake, I saw many buildings in New Zealand collapsed on TV or newspapers. In Toyama City, news programs about the earthquake were broadcast every day, and I felt very sad each time.

I think that we have to learn how we can keep damage to a minimum from such a terrible experience.