Mother Mourns Son 10 Years After Kumamoto Earthquake Landslide
Shinobu Yamato, a 58-year-old mother, returned to the site of the Aso Ohashi Bridge in Kumamoto Prefecture to mark the tenth anniversary of the devastating 2016 earthquake. She offered prayers for her son, Hikaru, who died in a landslide triggered by the seismic activity. Hikaru, a 22-year-old university student at the time, had been delivering drinking water to a friend affected by the initial shock when his car was caught in the collapse near the bridge in Minamiaso village. Speaking with deep emotion, Yamato expressed that her grief remains as intense as ever, stating that her son mattered more than her own life and that she still struggles with the inability to see, hear, or touch him a decade later. The visit coincided with the anniversary of the second major shock that struck the region in April 2016. Her story highlights the enduring personal toll of natural disasters on survivors and families who continue to cope with loss long after the immediate crisis has passed, serving as a poignant reminder of the human cost associated with such catastrophic environmental events.
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Mother Mourns Son 10 Years After Kumamoto Earthquake Landslide
Shinobu Yamato, a 58-year-old mother, returned to the site of the Aso Ohashi Bridge in Kumamoto Prefecture to mark the tenth anniversary of the devastating 2016 earthquake. She offered prayers for her son, Hikaru, who died in a landslide triggered by the seismic activity. Hikaru, a 22-year-old university student at the time, had been delivering drinking water to a friend affected by the initial shock when his car was caught in the collapse near the bridge in Minamiaso village. Speaking with deep emotion, Yamato expressed that her grief remains as intense as ever, stating that her son mattered more than her own life and that she still struggles with the inability to see, hear, or touch him a decade later. The visit coincided with the anniversary of the second major shock that struck the region in April 2016. Her story highlights the enduring personal toll of natural disasters on survivors and families who continue to cope with loss long after the immediate crisis has passed, serving as a poignant reminder of the human cost associated with such catastrophic environmental events.
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