KO SASAKI/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
JAPAN
Mashiki, Japan— Homes lie in ruin on April 17, one day after a powerful magnitude-7.3 earthquake and three days after a magnitude-6.2 quake struck the same region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Dozens of the area’s mostly wooden homes crumbled; at least 42 people were killed, and nearly 250,000 were advised to leave their homes for fear of more earthquakes. It was an extremely active few days in the quake-prone Pacific Ring of Fire: Ecuador was hit by a magnitude-7.8 temblor that killed at least 350 people and injured 2,000.