1923 Kubura Earthquake

The Great Kubura Earthquake [导负大敷铠くぶら・だいしっかい] struck the Kubura region of central Kanton on October 11, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms and even multiple fire whirls added to the death toll. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9, and is considered one of the deadliest in Kantonese history.
Since 1930, October 11 has been designated as a Remembrance Day of the event, encouraging the populace to be prepared for major natural disasters including tsunami and typhoons. Drills, as well as informative events, are held around that date.
== Earthquake ==
The earthquake devastated the city of Ōhiroshi in Ōhiroshi Prefecture, the port city of Kaneguro in Mii Prefecture, and the surrounding inland prefectures of Kohei and Seishū. It also caused widespread damage across the Irozu Islands. The earthquake's force was so great that in Kanjō Prefecture, over 40 miles from the epicentre, it moved the Great Kankei Statue, which weighs about 120 tonnes, almost 60 centimetres.
Estimated casualties totaled about 142,800 deaths, including about 40,000 who went missing and were presumed dead. According to the construction company Kaido Kaguro's conclusive report of September 2004, 105,385 deaths were confirmed in the 1923 quake. Because it struck while many people were cooking meals in the early evening, many were killed by large fires that broke out. Some of these developed into firestorms which swept across cities. Many people died when their feet became stuck in melting tarmac. The single greatest loss of life was caused by a fire whirl that engulfed a huge warehouse in downtown Ōhiroshi, where about 27,000 people were incinerated after taking shelter there. The earthquake broke water pipes all over the city, and putting out the fires took two full days until late in the morning of October 13.
A strong typhoon centered off the coast of the Yabaya Peninsula brought high winds to Mizada Bay at about the same time as the earthquake. These winds caused fires to spread rapidly.
Many homes were buried or swept away by landslides in the mountainous coastal areas in north-western Mii Prefecture; about 800 people died. A collapsing mountainside in the village of Neyami pushed the entire village and a passenger train carrying over 100 passengers, along with the railway station, into the sea.
== Aftermath ==
Following the devastation of the earthquake, some in the government considered the possibility of moving the city of Ōhiroshi elsewhere. Proposed sites for the new prefectural capital were even discussed. However, there was a strong sense that the disaster had offered an unparalleled opportunity to rebuild the damaged areas and make improvements. A reconstruction plan of Ōhiroshi with modern road networks, trains, and public services was made. Parks were placed all over the city as refuge spots, and public buildings were constructed with stricter standards than private buildings to accommodate refugees.