Japanese Twitch streamer reveals how she escaped 7.6-magnitude earthquake

Japanese Twitch streamer reveals how she escaped 7.6-magnitude earthquake

Central Japan has been hit by a devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which has so far claimed 48 lives, and left trails of devastation.

A tsunami warning was issued on Monday (2 January) following the unexpectedly large quake, and around 1,000 rescuers are still racing to find survivors among the rubble.

Twitch streamer, Shiori_Japan1, was in the middle of a live broadcast when an emergency siren on her phone began blaring out, with an ominous AI-generated voice warning that an earthquake was imminent.

Twitch

"I've got to go, sorry", the Ishikawa local told viewers, before dashing out of the room as the livestream continued rolling. Within seconds, the room she'd been sat in began violently shaking as followers from across the globe watched it unfold.

After confirming she is safe, Shiori spoke to Indy100 about how the incident took place.

"I have experienced four big earthquakes in my life", she told us, adding that she remembers the 2004 and 2007 Chuetsu earthquakes, and the 2011 Great East Japan quake, that claimed almost 20,000 lives.

"[During the others] I didn't get the alert because I was living in the exact epicenter area. The alert usually comes for the P-wave, so for the 2004 and 2007 ones, our house was hit before the alarm beeps."

In the video, there appeared to be a very short timespan between the iPhone alert being sent out, and the earthquake arriving.

"We always have drills at school - since I was told how to react when it happens", she says. "In our house, we're always prepared with essential stuff such as water, food, and first aid in a backpack, and leave it at the entrance."

While she left quickly, Shiori says that the area experiences 'several smaller earthquakes every month', so she prioritised helping her family.


Getty

"When I left the room, I ran to the other room to check up my grandpa in his nineties, and my grandma in her eighties", she added.

"If I were alone I would've gone outside, but since my grandparents are old, I made sure to stay inside to prevent them falling."

Speaking of the damage caused by the tremors, she said: "Our area had water outages, blackouts, and a house collapse. Fortunately, our house didn’t get any serious damage.

"We still have small shakes every few hours, our neighbours are sharing about what happened to them, and hoping it's going to be over soon."

Hundreds of buildings close to the epicentre are thought to be destroyed, and Ishikawa suffered a 4.9-magnitude aftershock quake in the hours following. However, the tsunami warnings have now been eased.

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