Japan is one of the countries most prone to earthquakes as it is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. The quake, with a magnitude of 7.6 and its epicentre in Ishikawa prefecture, destroyed buildings, knocked out power to thousands of homes, and prompted residents in coastal areas to head to higher ground as tsunami waves hit Japan’s west coast.
While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said there are no current reports of any Singaporeans affected by the earthquake, it urged Singaporeans to defer travel to the affected regions, remain vigilant and take necessary safety precautions. The Straits Times spoke to seismology, safety and travel experts to find out which countries are most prone to earthquakes, how to stay safe in an earthquake, and if travel insurance covers such natural disasters.Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and parts of China are seismically more active, which means they are more prone to earthquakes, said Associate Professor Wei Shengji, who specialises in seismology at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Asian School of the Environmen