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Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the early hours of Friday morning which injured 14 people and caused a brief power outage in some areas. The quake, which struck off the coast of the southern island of Kyushu at 2:07am local time, caused only minor damage, but the third anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake this week served as an important reminder of the devastation that can be caused by major earthquakes and tsunami.

Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and as such its people tend to be extremely well-versed in what to do in the event of a natural disaster. Take cover, turn off the gas, open the door to secure an escape route. These collectors of anime figures, however, had a different idea about what to do in the moments after this morning’s quake – check up on their action figures, and immediately catalogue the damage on Twitter.

These photos, which were posted to Twitter just minutes after the earthquake hit at 2:07am, show forlorn characters toppled from their shelves or smashed on the floor.

▼ “Is there no way to save Gundam from earthquakes?!” asks this distressed fan.

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▼ “I can cope with earthquakes, but please, please, don’t let my figures get broken,” writes this Twitter user, whose characters have been toppled from their stands inside a protective case.

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▼ “Breaking news! Atobe and Shiraishi [characters from anime series Prince of Tennis] have been seriously injured in an earthquake.” 

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▼ “The aftermath of last night’s earthquake. A terrible thing has happened to my husband’s figure collection.” 

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▼ “After the quake,” writes this Twitter user  – although we’d like to see a “before” picture of this messy room to compare it with…

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Many people’s immediate response to an earthquake is to check social networking sites. If you’re looking for more detail than twenty friends all posting “earthquake!!!” however, you’d be better off checking the Japan Meteorological Agency website for up-to-date information. We’re just glad no-one was seriously injured, and hope these anime fans were taking care of their own safety as well as thinking about their collections.

Source: Hachimakiko
Top image: @sasori_No, via Twitter
Other images:  @sick_roha, @kabocyamaturi, @ryoko0222, @kyosuke1203121, via Twitter