Despite Kumamoto quake, some HK holidaymakers press on with trips

The death toll behind the powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture has reached 13. Another 90 injured are receiving treatment and tens of thousands of people have no access to electricity.

Authorities have warned that strong aftershocks could continue over the next few days. Despite this, some Hong Kong residents are heading for Japan

as planned.

Currently, there are no direct flights from Hong Kong to Kumamoto.

However, flights to nearby cities like Fukuoka, which also felt tremors and had hundreds of people evacuated, have been running as scheduled.

Most travellers flying to Japan are going to either Osaka or Tokyo, which is quite far from stricken areas. They believe the responsibility of taking appropriate safety measures falls on themselves as they choose to continue their trip despite the earthquake.

Japanese traveller Mr YOSHIDA: "We normally check the SNS or internet so I got the information by myself. This is something that's our own responsibility."Local traveller Ms LAI: "I'm sure the Hong Kong government has been posting. We will be able to watch on the news and we know, all the residents here, we know what's going on in Japan. So all passengers take our own responsibility to travel or not."

Most people we have spoken to are heading to other parts of Japan, and aren't too worried about experiencing an earthquake. One family headed for Fukuoka, however, are somewhat concerned, but believe it won't affect their trip too much.

Local traveller CARINE: "I'm kind of concerned because I'm afraid there might be an earthquake again. I've been looking forward to it for a long time so hope I can go and there will not be an earthquake. My mom bought insurance and I'm less concerned about the earthquake."

The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers reminds residents to pay attention to the coverage limits of their travel insurance. Selina Lau, the Chief Executive of the Federation, stresses that different insurance companies have different definitions of disaster-affected areas, and citizens should check with their insurance providers whether they are covered.