Vietnamese students in Japan earthquake zone collect rainwater to cook rice

Lacking water and food, a Vietnamese male student had to use rainwater to cook rice after strong earthquakes near Kumamoto city, southern Japan.

Broken bricks and stones near Do Van Giap's residence. Photo: NVCC

At 1:25 a.m. on April 16, Do Thao Linh, 27, a master's student at Kumatomo University, was suddenly awakened by the shaking. The shaking was so strong that furniture on the shelves flew to the ground and the bed moved about 20 centimeters from its original position, she said. Linh's house is located in the west of Kumatomo City, Kumatomo Prefecture on Kyushu Island, southern Japan.

Unlike the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that occurred 28 hours earlier, Linh had already calculated measures to prepare for the worst.She slept right next to the kotatsu, a low Japanese-style warming table, in case an earthquake occurred, and prepared a few necessary items to bring along.

However, Linh said that many Japanese and Vietnamese people were also subjective, not expecting this time "it was so fast and strong". Many Vietnamese friends that Linh knew did not even have time to put on their shoes and ran outside."It shook so much that if you stood up you would fall," she toldVnExpressThe epicenter of the second earthquake was right in the center of the city, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, stronger than the first, and shallower.

Linh immediately hid under the table but at that moment the power went out. She used her cell phone to turn on the light, grabbed her bag, coat, and slippers to find her way out. Downstairs, she stepped over the pile of broken dishes, turned off the circuit breaker, and saw everyone running down.

Several strong aftershocks followed shortly after and they decided to evacuate to a secondary school near their home, a 10-minute walk away."Everyone was silent, there was only the sound of helicopters, fire trucks, police and cars running," Linh said.

She told everyoneThey all went in groups of two or more, knew where to go and what to do, so they were quite calm, and while walking, they tried to contact acquaintances, asked about the situation, and informed them where they were going.

At least 42 people died and nearly 1,100 were injured in two earthquakes that shook the area near the city of Kumamoto, just 28 hours apart last week, officials said.

Nine people died in the first 6.4-magnitude quake, while 33 died in the second 7.1-magnitude one. Ten people are still missing. Geologists now believe the first quake was a foreshock that led to the April 17 quakes.

Catch rainwater to cook rice

Armor to store water to cook rice. Photo: NVCC

While Linh lives in the western part of the city and is not required to evacuate, Do Van Giap, 25 years old, from Thai Binh, lives right in the city center and goes to an elementary school every night to sleep overnight. This placesolidly built to withstand earthquakes.

"There are about 2,000 people where I live, both Japanese and Vietnamese. Almost everyone has to sleep close together and keep their distance, so there are so many people," Giap said.

Giap's house is located near the centuries-old Kumamoto Castle, which was heavily damaged by the earthquake. A few houses away, Giap took a photo of the rubble and rubble caused by the earthquake.

The computer science student at Coto Japanese Language School, who studies and works part-time at a restaurant, has been in the city for two years, but this is the first time he has witnessed such a strong earthquake.

While some have returned home, about 110,000 people have been evacuated from 100 centers, and the Japanese government is working to distribute food and blankets to residents. However, about 250,000 homes are still without water, 100,000 without gas and 39,000 without electricity in Kumamoto.

Giap said that where he lives, there is no power outage, but there is no water and the water that is distributed or purchased is only for drinking.

"It's unbelievable. I haven't showered for three days. Yesterday I even had to use some rainwater to cook rice," Giap said. He said his lesson is to always be on guard, refill old water bottles, and stock up on dry food.

Empty shelves at a convenience store in Kumamoto Prefecture. Photo: Kyodo

According toTelegraph, food shortages were also reported across the region."It's very convenient here, if you want to eat something, you can go to a bento shop or a 24-hour store, supermarket to buy pre-cooked food, buy a lunch box. ButAfter the earthquake, everyone bought food so it was all gone.Stores and supermarkets are closed or if they are open, you can only buy a few dry foods like instant noodles, bread, and rice balls," Linh said.

Giap's friend planned to fly to Tokyo to visit his girlfriend but was unable to because Kumamoto airport was closed. The bullet train was also suspended. Yesterday, US military forces began participating in the relief operation with Japan in the earthquake-affected area.

Linh and Giap are two of more than 1,600 Vietnamese people living, working and studying in Kumamoto prefecture, Vietnamese officials said.nVietnamese people are mainly concentrated in the cities of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Tamanashi, and Nagabuchi town in this province.

"The life of a normal international student is going to school in the morning and working part-time in the evening.Now both school and part-time jobs are canceled, and even people don't dare to go," she added. Both Linh and Giap's schools have given students a day off., during interviews, all reported feeling new aftershocks. They said the situation is currently "unknown."

According to VNE