The Pacific Ring of Fire has been extremely active this year, and that should deeply alarm all of us. Approximately 90 percent of all global earthquakes occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and we have just gotten another reminder that danger is potentially lurking every single moment of every single day. Those that were killed by the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that just hit Japan were just living their lives like normal when disaster suddenly struck. Unfortunately, the entire west coast of the United States also sits directly along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and scientists openly acknowledge that the clock is ticking.

As far as I know, nobody was forecasting that a magnitude 7.1 earthquake would hit Japan on Tuesday.

But that is precisely what happened…

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and leaving some trapped and others presumed dead inside a partially collapsed shopping mall.

Speaking to reporters from her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage in the area, which was devastated by a deadly quake a decade ago.

"We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings," Takaichi said.

One moment, local residents were casually strolling through a shopping mall.

But then everything started shaking and the shopping mall collapsed right on top of them…

Footage on social media shows members of the public running for cover and crouching down on the floor as the ground shook at the shopping centre.

An unknown number of people are believed to have become trapped in the rubble of the mall, with rescue operations being carried out, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

There have also been several reports of injuries and damage to roads, bridges and buildings, as well as blackouts and fire.

Videos on social media showed clouds of smoke billowing into the air as flames engulfed a building, while firefighters scrambled to tackle the blaze.

This is a great tragedy, and it shows how quickly something like this can occur.