Japan Earthquake Leaves Survivors Shivering in Dark Shelters, Lacking Basics

When the ground ruptured in a massive 7.5 quake, Minae Akiyama feared her life would end as ceilings crumbled around her. She had journeyed north to celebrate the New Year with relatives, excited for festive family meals.

Instead, panic gripped her as violent tremors rocked her mother's stone and wood home, the table shielding her the only defense against collapsing infrastructure.

Two nights later, even small aftershocks transport Akiyama back to those seconds of life-or-death terror, her heart pounding as the memories overtake her.

Those remaining moments inside are a blur - frantic prayers, grabbing her bag, fleeing into the snowy evening. Outside, the destruction became clear, and the house's interior was ransacked by the quake's power. Furniture smashed, appliances crushed, mementos from decades of her mother's life now reduced to debris.

Though Akiyama's family survived unharmed, witnessing the scale of wreckage makes recovery feel distant.