How does the author use the word "hell" as a metaphor in the book, Ghosts of the Tsunami?

The word for 'hell' in Japanese is 'jigoku.' Hell is mentioned in Parry's book as a metaphor for the absolute ruin of the beautiful region hit by the tsunami. Hitomi Konno is the first to explicitly voice this comparison, which Parry finds apt since the Japanese conception of hell differs from the Judeo-Christian pit of fire normally invoked. Japanese 'jigoku' is characterized by ice, water, and mud, among other elements. The landscape Hitomi looked upon, as described in the chapter titled "Jigoku," seemed to her to mirror these elements and contain distinctly hellish, apocalyptic undertones which were emphasized by the enormous number of dead bodies uncovered in the wet earth for months afterward.