90th Anniversary Of The Great Kanto Earthquake Of 1923

Frank was telling me today of a Japanese documentary he recently watched, discussing memories of the Great Earthquake in Tokyo, 90 years ago this month. One particular event stood out for him:

Some fires developed into firestorms that swept across cities. Many people died when their feet became stuck in melting tarmac. The single greatest loss of life was caused by a firestorm-induced fire whirl that engulfed open space at the Rikugun Honjo Hifukusho (formerly the Army Clothing Depot) in downtown Tokyo, where about 38,000 people were incinerated after taking shelter there following the earthquake.

Basically, an entire open urban square crowded with tens of thousands of people was subjected to repeated fire tornadoes that swept burning people off the ground and pitched them into the sky. A prospect too horrible to contemplate!

Here is a little video about those bygone days: