All I can think is, “not again.”

I moved to Kumamoto in 2016, just a few months after the massive quakes hit the prefecture and city. There were still aftershocks from it well into August, and I could see the severity of the damage still in some places. The 2016 earthquakes had a 7.0 main shock and 6.2 aftershock. My students in English wrote of how traumatizing the earthquake was, and it had lasting effects on them.

It’s ten years, later, and I just now learned about another earthquake that’s a 7.1 shock that damaged much of southern Kumamoto (although I read the city wasn’t entirely unscathed; there are damages to the stones of Kumamoto Castle again).

The most harrowing image going on right now is of Kashima’s Aeon Mall, which has collapsed with people still trapped inside of it.

This article from USA Today shows pictures of Aeon Mall along with pictures within Kumamoto City of the damaged castle and what I’m guessing are shops around the Shimatori/Kamatori areas. (I’m not entirely sure. The street restaurants and shops kind of look similar).

I just know that the places that suffered from damage are places that I’ve been to, sometimes a lot. The epicenter according to the Washington Post was near Uto, where I’ve gone to teach for English camps. Some of my best friends in Japan lived in Uto.

We’re all texting each other back and forth right now talking about it. I put a call out on social media for my Japanese friends to let me know if they are ok–unfortunately I deleted my LINE when I started having problems using it in the US, and that was the number-one way for me to contact my fellow teachers and friends.

I hope everyone is ok, and to take up the phrase from the 2016 campaign, “pray for Kumamoto.”