Japan's Pacific coastal regions have seen a surge of hotel reservation cancellations and event postponements after a quake of 7.1 magnitude on Aug. 8 prompted the country to issue a megaquake alert along the Nankai Trough.
Shimoda, a popular resort town situated at the southeastern end of the Izu Peninsula, has seen over 500 hotel reservation cancellations since the megaquake alert was issued. A time-honored hot-spring hotel in Shimoda, which usually sees a surge of reservations during Japan's traditional Obon Festival holiday from Aug. 13 to 16, has now had to contend with the cancellation of rooms that were fully reserved two months in advance.
"Although I don't live by the sea, a megaquake is still scary," said a Japanese resident. "Following the issuance of a Nankai Trough megaquake alert on Aug. 8, customers have begun to cancel their reservations the following day. Of the 70 rooms that had been booked for between Aug. 9 and 31, 10 rooms have been cancelled," said a hot-spring hotel manager. As events are also being canceled or postponed in areas located close to the sea, the megaquake warning has also impacted the operations of beach rest areas, with group travelers canceling their reservations one after another. "Since the megaquake alert was issued, two tour groups, one with 30 people and the other with 15 people, totaling 45 people, have cancelled their reservations. The Obon Festival holiday season has seen a dramatic drop in tourist numbers, with only around half the usual visitors compared to the previous years," said a staff member at the beach in Shizuoka Prefecture. Other prefectures that have received the megaquake warning have also seen a surge in hotel reservation cancellations. In some coastal areas, scheduled fireworks festivals were postponed or cancelled in response to the alert. On Tuesday, the Cabinet Office said the one-week "alert period" for a potential megaquake is expected to conclude on Thursday if no abnormal seismic activities or crustal changes are detected. The Japan Meteorological Agency also announced on Wednesday afternoon that while no abnormal seismic activities or crustal changes have been observed in the anticipated epicenter zone, the threat of a large-scale earthquake remains higher compared to normal conditions. Chinese tourists who have booked tours to Japan have now chosen to change or cancel their travel plans in the wake of the country's megaquake warning. Summer vacation is traditionally the peak season for China's outbound tourism, and Japan is one of the main destinations for Chinese travelers. "Tourists who had originally planned to visit Japan may now adopt a 'wait and see' approach and postpone their trips, or they may redirect their flights to nearby destinations, such as South Korea and Southeast Asia," said Zhao Qibin, market manager of a travel agency in Guangzhou. Many Chinese airlines have announced their refund policies for flights affected by Japan's potential megaquake.
Megaquake alert in Japan triggers hotel cancellations, hits tourism industry
Survivors recalled the dire scenes of deadly airstrikes by Israel targeting a humanitarian area in Khan Younis of Gaza Strip on early Tuesday morning Tuesday.
The overnight airstrike took place in the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, where a sprawl of tent camps have been erected along the Gaza coast to serve as a humanitarian zone for displaced persons. The Israeli military said the strike targeted senior Hamas leaders operating from a hidden command center in the area.
According to witnesses and survivors, around five massive missiles hit that area and caused huge craters on the ground. The craters are around nine meter-deep because of the several bombardments that were taking place inside.
Because of the bombardments, several internally displaced people's tents were literally evaporating. And the situation is still extremely catastrophic as people are trying to find the bodies of their loved ones under the wrecks of the tents and also in the craters.
The strikes on the designated safe zone on Tuesday killed at least 40 people and injured more than 60 others, according to the Hamas-run Gaza government media office. At the same time, local health authorities reported the arrival of 19 bodies at hospitals, saying more victims are likely being trapped under the rubble.
"We saw several strikes, likely F16 strikes, Now as you can see these holes. Those people came from Khan Younis, Gaza, Al Qarara and Rafah. They're all asked by Israel to stay in Al Mawasi and came to the humanitarian zone accordingly. Some stayed in tents while others rented or just stayed in the street. May the Lord help them for they're children and women," said Alaa Al Shaer, a witness.
"We arrived at the place where there was a very, very deep hole. There were martyrs and injuries in the place. Civil Defense responded immediately, where some of the injured were transferred and digging was done to search for some of the missing people in the place with the simple machines and capabilities that we have. There are still missing people. We asked for the digger hoping to extract some of the missing people from the place," said Abu Mahmoud Al-Bordini, a civil defense worker. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society made a special statement saying that some of the people who are injured are in need of some precise surgical interventions that are not available because of the very critical situation Gaza has been living and because of the scarcity of all the precise equipment and medical supplies needed to conduct that type of operation. With the closure of the border, the situation of those people is likely to exacerbate and deteriorate and some of the people are under real threat of death because of that.
Countries in the region, including Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and Iran, on Tuesday strongly condemned the attack.
Israel has launched a large-scale retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza following a surprise attack by Hamas across the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. The Israeli offensive has so far killed 41,020 Palestinians and injured 94,925 others in the coastal enclave, according to Gaza-based health authorities.
Survivors recall dire scenes of Israel's bombing on Gaza's safe zone
