On the heels of a devastating 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Thursday, Japan was rocked again today when a 7.4 magnitude quake struck the same region, leading many residents to fear that the worst is yet to come.
Thursday's quake led the Japanese government evacuating 44,000 people from the area after the disaster took the lives of nine people, injured over 850 others, and destroyed a number of buildings.
The aftermath of Friday's quake is still unfolding, although reports have already emerged of people trapped in buildings and potential widespread damage to the area.
Between the two earthquakes from the last 48 hours as well as two other similar-sized quakes in the Pacific region during that time, many are wondering if these are mere preshocks leading into a massive disaster that is about to unfold.
Making matters even more precipitous is that the region is home to a number of volcanoes which could be spurred into erupting due to the ongoing seismic activity.
However, the spate of tremors this past week are also part of an even more troubling wave of 9 fairly large earthquakes that have occurred throughout Asia just this year, suggesting that if the 'big one' is eminent, it may not necessarily strike Japan.
Nonetheless, with the measurements of magnitude rising for these quakes, the terrifying possibility of a long-feared epic earthquake occurring soon may no longer be the sole domain of doomsday worriers and disaster films.
Source: The Guardian