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Twenty-five Mountain View High School students currently visiting Japan, including the Nagasaki and Kumamoto regions, are safe and unaffected by the two major earthquakes that struck the region in recent days.
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture late Thursday, followed by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake just 8 miles northwest of the first quake, according to reports from The Guardian. Media outlets are reporting that anywhere from 30 to 40 people have been killed, and hundreds have been injured.
The students visited both the Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures, but left two days before the first quake hit on Thursday, Nicole Higley, Mountain View High School’s Iwata Exchange Coordinator, said in an email to the Voice. The students have since stayed in Iwata on mainland Japan, and have not been affected by either earthquake, Higley said.
While in Kumamoto, the students visited the Kumamoto Castle, which has since been damaged by the earthquake, and also visited Mt. Aso — an active volcano — which was the site of an eruption and major landslide following the second quake, Higley said.
The students are expected to depart from Tokyo and arrive back in the Bay Area on Monday evening.
