Time is frozen on this clock at the Kumamoto Earthquake Disaster Museum KIOKU. 1:25 a.m. on April 16, 2016 -- that was when the main 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook Japan as residents were recovering from a 6.4 magnitude earthquake 28 hours before.

It claimed 273 lives, injured nearly 3,000, and damaged thousands of homes.

Takayuki Kubo, who is from nearby Kagoshima, was living in Tokyo at the time. He responded to calls for help and arrived three days after the earthquake to help with disaster recovery with non-profit organizations. He’s now the director of the museum, preserving the story in hopes of better preparedness.

"I felt it is my mission to keep telling the stories and share the memory of the earthquake. So here I am together working with 50 personnel including some guides," he told KUAM News.

There are many people like Kubo who ran into disaster to help rebuild. The museum features an entire section on lessons learned from the earthquakes. One resident wrote, “Many houses built before the revised earthquake resistance standards, that were introduced in May 1981, suffered serious damage…” Another person said that there was” confusion and anxiety caused by misinformation” on social media.

Kubo added, "Whether it is Japan or elsewhere in the world, wherever it is, earthquakes can happen and you can not eliminate earthquakes from happening. You can not stop it. So we work with the premise that earthquakes may happen. And this is the attitude and way of living. You always have to bear that in mind that mentality so as to save as many lives as possible."

That mentality also includes tangible actions like preparing a “go bag” with essential items needed for evacuation or relocation after a disaster strikes -- like food, lights, water, and hygiene items.

The community strives to live in harmony with nature in spite of the likelihood of another disaster. Their early detection system sometimes sends alerts to their phones before an earthquake even happens.

Kubo says progress to rebuild has been quick with many nonprofits supporting the effort. He explained, "An earthquake can happen anytime and anywhere. So just be prepared. In order to help each other, what is important is to share information."