Asia | Banyan

When a disaster shakes a country, political leaders face peril

The tragedies in Itaewon, Malang and Morbi will test governments

Two days after the tragedy, the streets of Itaewon were silent, save only for the whirring clicks of news cameras. In their frame was the alleyway in which a crush of bodies left more than 150 people dead. At the subway-station entrance white chrysanthemums had been left in memory of the victims.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Not enough to speak”

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