00:00One jolt, and in a fraction of a second, everything was destroyed.
00:04The terrifying 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture has brought
00:10back the haunting memories of 2016 that shook the entire region.
00:15But the biggest question right now is, will the people trapped under the rubble be rescued
00:19in time?
00:21Japan's Prime Minister Senai Takechi has declared this a race against time.
00:25The government has deployed approximately 4,600 emergency personnel, including 2,000
00:31police officers and 1,000 firefighters, into the field.
00:36In Kashima Town, the famous Aeon Mall, which had just celebrated its grand reopening on
00:41June 13, was rocked by a sudden, terrifying explosion, where four people remain missing
00:47and the safety of the mall's 2,700 employees has been verified.
00:51In Yatsushiro, the collapse of the Nippon paper factory chimney has also caused severe damage.
00:58This destruction is not limited to buildings alone, the 19th century worship hall of the
01:03Yatsushiro Shrine and the walls of Kumamoto Castle have also been reduced to rubble.
01:08But the most heart-wrenching sights belong to ordinary people.
01:12Hiroko Ogata, a 75-year-old restaurant owner, shared that in her entire life, she had never
01:18experienced such a violent, earth-shattering disaster.
01:22She recalls, I thought I wouldn't survive today.
01:26Tourists and locals present at the scene described the tremors as so intense that they felt they
01:31wouldn't make it out alive.
01:33The impact of this natural disaster has also hit Japan's economy.
01:37Honda has suspended operations at its main motorcycle plant until Friday, while Sony and
01:43semiconductor giant TSMC have also suspended or partially paused operations at their facilities
01:48as a safety precaution.
01:50However, the challenge isn't just clearing the rubble, nature has dealt another blow as
01:55temperatures are soaring up to 35 degrees Celsius.
01:59To cope with this intense heat and the threat of heatstroke, over 7,700 people have been relocated
02:05to more than 450 evacuation centers.
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