Older people living in isolated places and outdated homes face enormous danger when disaster strikes

There was an unfamiliar feel to the scenes that greeted residents and rescue workers in central Japan after sunrise on Tuesday. The previous afternoon, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake had jolted the region with violent shaking that went on for more than a minute, but must have felt like a lifetime to families relaxing in front of the TV on New Year’s Day.

Their screens, which had been airing variety shows to usher in the Year of the Dragon, quickly switched to TV announcers wearing hard hats, their voices filled with urgency as they implored people to head for higher ground as far away from the coast as possible. For the first time in almost 13 years, Japan was bracing for the arrival of a potentially deadly tsunami.