Facts and Details

EARTHQUAKE WARNINGS

Earthquake casualties If scientists believe there is a significant risk of a major earthquake occurring imminently a meeting is held by a six-member council at the Meteorological Agency. They give a report to the Prime Minister who holds a Cabinet meeting. If they believe there is a real risk they can issue a warning. Issuing a warning is not something taken lightly because if a warning is issued the shinkansen and many public facilities are shut down and this can greatly disrupt the economy and everyday life.

Japan launched a new earthquake warning system in 2007. It uses sensors that pick up the fast-moving and less destructive P-waves produced by an earthquake and transmits a warning broadcast on television and radio before the destructive S-waves arrive, giving recipients of the message precious seconds to seek shelter.

The system gives people as much as a 50 second warning before an earthquake occures in places far from the epicenter. The system is only really effective for places away from epicenter. P-waves and S-waves arrive close together at places close to the epicenter, where warning would only be a matter of a couple seconds at most.

Eight earthquake warnings were issued the first year the system was in operation. The main problem with them is that few people actually were aware of the warnings. Japanese companies have begun developing cell phones ad other devises that can pick up the warnings better.

Japan also has a tsunami warning system that issues warnings on television. See Tsunamis

In a 2008 survey, 75 percent of Japanese said they fear a big earthquake in their area. One report found that 580 cultural properties, including 113 national treasures, were vulnerable to earthquakes.

Websites and Resources

Earthquake Scientific Framework Links in this Website: VOLCANOS AND JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; MAJOR VOLCANOS AND ERUPTIONS IN JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; EARTHQUAKES AND JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; EARTHQUAKES AND LIFE IN JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; KOBE EARTHQUAKE OF 1995 Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN JAPAN IN THE 2000s Factsanddetails.com/Japan ; TSUNAMIS IN JAPAN Factsanddetails.com/Japan

Good Websites and Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center earthquake.usgs.gov ; Wikipedia article on Earthquakes Wikipedia ; Earthquake severity pubs.usgs.gov ; USGS Earthquake Frequently Asked Questions earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq ; Collection of Images from Historic Earthquakes Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, Jan Kozak Collection ; World Earthquake Map iris.edu/seismon ; Most Recent Earthquakes earthquake.usgs.gov ; Interactive Earthquake Guide guardian.co.uk ; USGS Earthquakes for Kids earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids ; Earthquake Preparedness and Safety Surviving an Earthquake edu4hazards.org ; Earthquake Pamphlet pubs.usgs.gov ; Earthquake Preparedness Guide earthquakepreparednessguide.com ; Earthquake Safety Site earthquakecountry.info ;

the shinkansen automatically shuts down
during an earthquake Earthquake Information for Japan Earthquake Information from Japan Meteorological Agency jma.go.jp/en/quake ; F-Net Broadband Seismography Network fnet.bosai.go.jp ; USGS Japan Earthquake Information earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world ; Tectonics and Volcanos of Japan volcano.oregonstate.edu ; MCEER Earthquake Engineering on Major Earthquakes in Japan in the 20th Century mceer.buffalo.edu ; Major Earthquakes in Japan in the 20th Century drgeorgepc.com ; Sesimic Hazard Map earthquake.usgs.gov ; Earthquake Density Map earthquake.usgs.gov ; Seismicity Map earthquake.usgs.gov ; Blogs About Japanese Earthquakes blogged.com/topics/japan-earthquake ; Geological Maps aist.go.jp/GSJ ; Earthquake Engineering and Disaster Prevention: Disaster Prevention Research Institute, University of Kyoto dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/web ; Japan Association of Earthquake Engineering jaee.gr.jp/english ; Earthquake Preparedness in Japan Earthquake Preparedness Survey whatjapanthinks.com ;U.S. Embassy Disaster Preparedness Checklist tokyo.usembassy.gov ; U.K. Embassy on Earthquake Preparedness v ; Report on Fastening Furniture pdf file iiasa.ac.at/Research/RAV ;Earthquake Preparedness Guide earthquakepreparednessguide.com ;

Earthquake Research in Japan: Headquarters of Earthquake Research Promotion jishin.go.jp ; Active Fault Research Center unit.aist.go.jp ; Institute of Geology and Geoinformation unit.aist.go.jp ; Tokai Earthquake Prediction from Japan Meteorological Agency jma.go.jp/en/quake_tokai ; Research Center for Earthquake Prediction, University of Kyoto rcep.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp ; Earthquake Prediction Research Center, Tokyo University eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ ; Earthquake and Science Museums Shinagawa City Disaster Prevention site city.shinagawa.tokyo.jp ; Earthquake Museum (Kita Ward, near the Nishigahara Station on the Naboku subway line), Tokyo Essentials tokyoessentials.com ; Honjo Life Safety Learning Center (Sumida Ward) simulates an earthquake and fire in a 3-D theater. There is also a room that simulates a storm with wind sped of 30 meters per second. Tokyo City PDF file bousai.metro.tokyo.jp

Recent Earthquakes in Japan : USGS Last Earthquake in Japan neic.usgs.gov/neis/last_event/world_japan ; Recent Earthquakes eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp ; Info for the Previous Week jma.go.jp/en/quake ; Major Earthquakes in Japan Wikipedia List of Earthquakes in Japan Wikipedia ; USGS Historic Earthquakes earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical ;Major Earthquakes in Japan in the 20th Century drgeorgepc.com ; 1923 Tokyo Earthquake: 1923 Tokyo Earthquake Images eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center ; Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 dl.lib.brown.edu/kanto ; 1923 Tokyo Earthquake Photo Gallery japan-guide.com ; Earthquake Pictures: Earthquake Image Archive geot.civil.metro-u.ac.jp ; BBC Pictures of 2007 Niigata Earthquake BBC Pictures of 2007 Niigata Earthquake ; Kobe Earthquake Site seismo.unr.edu ;

Earthquake Preparedness

After the Kobe earthquake, which demonstrated how unprepared Japan was for such a serious earthquake, the emphasis switched from predicting earthquakes to being better prepared for them when they strike. The result was a multimillion dollar education campaign and advise and subsidies for earthquake-proofing homes and other buildings.

The bullet trains have a system with seismographs that automatically shut downs the train at the first sign of an earthquake. Many factories in earthquake-prone areas have machines that automatically shut down when they sense vibrations from a quake. The Japanese gas company has installed meters that shut off the gas supply in the event of tremor. Nuclear power plants and other dangerous factories are also automatically shut down. Ideally, expressways are cleared so emergency vehicles can get through, factories are shut down and gas and electricity supplies are made safe. The public is informed on what to do.

On the outskirts of Tokyo, at a former U.S. Air Force base, a back-up capital has been set up as a command center in the event of a major earthquake. The rooms are sparsely furnished and contain computers and wall-mounted viewing screens. The basement is filled with food and a large kerosene generator. There is a well for water.

After the Kobe earthquake many people could not be rescued from the debris because of a lack of tools. As a result, some places have placed easily-acessible tools such a saws, crowbars, and axes in warehouses in schools and parks and have set up a system for service stations to lend their tools. But as the Kobe earthquake showed: no matter how much preparation is made it still often isn't enough. If a major earthquake occurs in Tokyo on a work day one of the biggest logical problem will be what to do with all the stranded commuters and other people too far from their homes to return by foot in the event the train system is crippled.

Virtually all schools and factories conduct regular earthquake drills and have a ready supply of safety helmets. Residents are taught that during an earthquake they should turn off all gas appliances and stand under a door frame for protection from falling debris. In elementary school, children are taught to seek cover under a desk. Approximately 27 percent of all homes in Tokyo have emergency supplies on hand in the event of an earthquake.

There are vending machines that offer drinks free of charge after earthquakes.

To train Japanese how to prepare for earthquakes special trucks have been outfitted with a table, two chairs, a bookshelf, a gas cooking stove, kerosene heater that are shaken by a powerful hydraulic system that can simulate earthquakes 50 times more powerful than the one that struck San Francisco in 1989. The NRCDP Earthquake Simulator is a giant hydraulically-powered "shaking machine " that is used to test horizontal and vertical movements on bridges, buildings and other structures.

Earthquake education includes seminars on emergency medical treatment, fire extinguishing and finding one’s way out if a smoke-field building. An instructor at an earthquake simulator at the Life Safety Center in Tokyo, which produces a simulated one-minute-long 6.9 temblor, told the Los Angeles Times, “Everyone here is surprised at the violence of the movement and how long it lasts. They say ‘I didn’t know the earth moved so vigorously.’ And I tell them this is just a test. The real one is much worse, much more emotionality terrible.”

Earthquake drills are held throughout the country on September 1st, the anniversary of the Great Tokyo Earthquake in 1923 During earthquake drills in Japan children run through smoke-filled tunnels with wet handkerchiefs over their faces. Soldiers rehearse helicopter rescues. In 2007, more than 627,000 people took part in disaster drills across the Japan on Disaster Prevention Day. In 2008, more than 590,000 did.

What to Do If an Earthquake Occurs

Japanese earthquake experience car If you are in a building during an earthquake you should stay away from windows or anything heavy like a bookcase that can fall on you, and get under a desk, table or the frame of a door. If you are at home you should do the same and wrap your body in a blanket for additional protection. Small rooms and bathrooms are considered safe. Stay away from refrigerators or dressers. Don't try to turn off the gas during a quake but do so immediately after it stops.

The highest floor in a building tend to be the safest. Building rarely topple over but often the bottom floors collapse. If you hear a warning, ideally you should get outside. If you don’t have enough time you should stay away from large pieces of furniture and seek shelter under a table. If a stove is on turn it off. If you are in a store or office it is better to seek shelter inside rather than dash for an exit and get caught in a panicking crowds. If you are in an elevator get out as soon as possible. New elevators stop automatically when there is large earthquake and open their doors. If you are in an old elevator press all the buttons and get out on the nearest floor.

If you are outside keep looking above you and stay away from falling glass, roofing tiles and signboards, and head quickly to the nearest open area. If you are in a shopping area and the lights go out stay calm wait for the emergency light to come on and head to the nearer exit. If you are on train stay put until you are given instructions. Trains stop automatically in strong earthquakes. Don't try to break a window and step outside. A shock from a high-voltage cable can be fatal. If you are in a car slowly turn off the side of the road and stay in the car until the quake is over.

After some earthquakes it can take days to bring emergency supplies, weeks to restore food distribution and months to restore water, gas and electricity. In preparation of an earthquake residents should have plenty of water and emergency food on hand as well as a flashlight, essential medicines, warm clothes, tissues, a fire extinguisher, a portable battery-powered radio, strong shoes, a helmet, sheets of plastic. If possible it also good to have a small electric generator and an emergency toilet. Nobue Kunizaki, a housewife who has written a book om earthquakes preparation, has put whistles and radios in rooms of her house to call for help in the event of a quake and has emergency backpacks for her children with essentials such as water, food and warm clothes as well as stuffed toys to release stress.

Ten Things to Do When an Earthquake Hits

1977 Biserica1) When you feel an earthquake protect yourself immediately by seeking shelters, such as under a table. [Source: Tokyo Fire Department]

2) After the shaking stops turn off any heat or gas sources and calmly put out any fires.

3) Be aware of broken glass and debris.

4) Find a clear way out of the building.

5) Don’t rush out in a panic; watch for falling objects.

6) Keep away from brick or block walls, as they may fall over.

7) Seek official information and instructions from radio, TV and local authorities.

8) Check on your family and neighbors.

9) Work with neighbors to free people from debris.

10) Before evacuating turn off electricity and gas.

Earthquake Resistant Buildings

Many cities vulnerable to earthquakes in the developed world have strict building codes for buildings, houses, bridges, tunnels and stadiums to prevent earthquake damage. When an earthquake in one of these places occurs, severe damage is usually caused to structures built before these rules were put into place. Poor people are often more likely to these building than the non-poor. Cities in the developing world often similar codes but the regulations of often ignored.

To be earthquake-resistant, buildings have to be strengthened in such a way that they are rigid enough to keep from whipping back and forth and flexible enough to sway. High rises are buttressed with braces and shock absorbers bolted to inner steel skeletons. These allow movement but prevent catastrophic swaying. The masonry walls of mid-rises can be reinforced with diagonal steel beam and sprayed concrete and can be isolated from the foundation by placing it on steel and rubber pads and inserting dampers that absorb shock, stabilize the building and reduce lateral forces that cause the destructive side to side shaking.

Devices places at the foundation level of buildings include diagonal dampers that work and look like car shock absorbers; slider bearings that allow the foundation to shift on a steel discs; and seismic isolators that look like layer cakes and are made of layers of steel and rubber stacked under the foundation to dissipate the sway. The 55-story Torre Mayor building in Mexico City—the tallest building in Mexico—has diagonal shock absorbers that withstood the shaking of a 7.4 earthquake 300 miles away several months after it opened in 2003. It is built to withstand earthquake up to 8.4.

Strengthening existing buildings includes reinforcing walls with steel bars and connecting wings to the main structure with steel bracing. At the base of a building a moat is sometimes built to separate it from the ground. A suspension system of steel and rubber isolators is installed that allows the building to move independently from the ground and seismic dampers are placed at the base of support columns that act as shock absorbers.

Earthquake Resistant Buildings in Japan

Reinforced, earthquake-resistant buildings almost never collapse. Making a building earthquake-resistant adds about 10 to 20 percent to building costs. Things that can be done include reinforcing concrete walls and pillars, digging deep foundations, adding special joints that ease internal stress when buildings start to shake and sway.

In Japan all buildings must meet earthquake-safe building codes, which among other things, includes installing devises that automatically shut off the gas at the first tremor. Japan and some other countries have made an effort to strengthen dangerous buildings and infrastructure such as power plants, bridges and overpasses.

Earthquake resistant technology has been around for a long time. As early as 1891, it was suggested that buildings should be placed on rolling logs to absorb the horizontal movements of quakes before they reach the building. In the early 20th century, buildings were built with super thick pillars and limits were placed on heights. In 1928 "base-isolated pillars" were proposed that included deformable membranes between the foundations and the superstructure intended to absorb the quakes energy and slow oscillations.

Gojunoto is an earthquake-resistant pagoda erected in 1407 in Nara. The five stories oscillate in opposed phases when there are tremors, which keeps the structure from breaking apart. There is no evidence of the structure ever collapsing. The same techniques are used in modern buildings. The Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto has survived more than five centuries of earthquakes. During a tremor the entire building sways as each story moves independent around a central anchoring pillar. Scientists are now studying the pagoda for clues on making modern buildings more earthquake-resistant.

Plans to improve Japan’s earthquake readiness includes making 90 percent of buildings earthquake-resistant and introducing subsidies and tax breaks to encourage citizens to make necessary change son their homes and anchor furniture so it doesn’t fall over. Currently 75 percent of the buildings in Japan are earthquake resistant.

Modern Earthquake Resistance Technology

High rise buildings can be built with an elastic architecture that allows them to flex horizontally when the ground shifts. Earthquake resistant technology introduced in 1983 enabled concrete buildings and roads to be built atop layers of shock-absorbing rubber-bearing isolators and metal dampers. When an earthquake occurs the pads sway instead of the building. Most new buildings have this technology.

The most modern earthquake-resistant high-rises, using the latest base-isolation technology, rest on 30 layered rubber-bearing isolators, with 99 lead dampers below them. High-rise towers are strengthened with "super pillars" in the four corners and "supercrossbeams" at 10-floor intervals. Floors holding valuable computer systems have their own separate base-isolated floors. Buildings on softer soils need special braces because the building can resonate with the quake and vibrate apart.

Under Tokyo, construction crews have built tunnel-size ducts for water, electricity, telephone and sewage lines that are resistant to earthquakes. If damage does occur the tunnel-like designs allow quick access so services can be restored after an earthquake.

It is possible to build more earthquake-resistant buildings and highways, but for the number of lives saved, many argue that money for these expensive improvements would be better spent on traffic lights or child immunizations.

Earthquake Resistant Houses and Infrastructure

deep foundations The walls of masonry houses should be reinforced with fiber mesh and tied to each other and the roof. Water heaters and other appliances should be strapped or bolted down to prevent them from falling over. Cabinet doors should be latched shut so their contents don’t spill out.

Wood-frame houses should be bolted to their foundations to prevent them from being shaken loose. The pillars that support the house should be strong. The clamps that connect pillars, cross ties and beams should to designed to absorb seismic energy. Nails that hold the clamps in place are vital to absorbing the shock of an earthquake while holding the clamps in the place so so the pillars, cross ties and beams don’t come apart.

Elevated highways and bridges can strengthened and stabilized by driving micropiles—long, pipe-like anchors—through foundations deep into the ground. Bridge columns can be strengthened by encasing them in steel jackets or fiber mesh. Roads hold up better if loose earth is anchored to rock on shoulders, reducing sliding.

Water pipes and electricity cables can be placed common utility ducts (CUDs), concrete pipes that move with the earth during earthquakes and are less likely to become damaged and are easier to repair. Flexible joints allow subway tunnels to bend with the quake motion and resist breaking. Large avenues act as firebreaks. High-pressure auxiliary water systems allow firefighter to tap into special reserves with millions of gallons of water.

Earthquake Resistant Homes in Japan

house shaker Because traditional Japanese homes are made of cedar wood and rice paper they catch fire easily. Moreover, they collapse easily under the weight of the heavy-tiled roofs.

Japan have traditionally not used stones or brick in construction because they are heavy and do not withstand quakes. Many houses built after World War II have walls composed of a thin lattice of light wood finished with stucco, and a roof made of heavy blue or brown tiles. Most people today live in concrete high-rises. Steel frame houses hold up well in earthquakes.

Most injuries at one hospital after the Kobe earthquake were the result of being crushed by falling beams or furniture. Measures that can be taken to reduce these kinds of injuries include using metal fittings to secure furniture to the walls of a house, attaching appliances to cabinets and tables with glue-like adhesive substances, reinforcing the ceiling and floors with steel girders and adding pillars and, or reinforcing existing pillars, strengthening the foundation by adding more concrete and steel.

The Japanese have developed a system for strengthening buildings up to a height of 30 meters with “made-to-break” T-joints, integrated into the design, that can be easily replaced and don’t require the building to be torn down and replaced. The T- joints are designed so the top part doesn’t break and the lower part does and the joint can be easily replaced.

Exterior Shear Truss The latest earthquake-ready homes are connected to Japan’s earthquake early-warning system, which can give up to 30 second notice before a quake hits, and have emergency lights, indoor sprinklers and secret fall-away doors that give every room two doors, increasing the change of escape;. Lights are covered in case the light bulbs expose and bathrooms have push out doors for walls to facilitate an escape.

The Japanese have designed panels made with highly abrasive and viscous dampers installed in the walls that absorb seismic energy before it reaches the joints between the pillars, cross ties and beams. The dampers are made with materials similar to those used in car breaks.

There is a high demand for quake-resistant tombstones, Conventional tombstone sin Japan are made of several tiers of stones that are vulnerable to toppling over in a strong earthquake. New earthquake-resistant models are made with glued resin sheets between the stones. The sheets absorb shocks and hold the stones together.

Japanese Architecture, Wood, Earthquakes and Fire

It had traditionally been thought that one of the main reasons why wood was more dominant in Japanese architecture than stone is that wood structures were less vulnerable to earthquakes that stone buildings, which topple over easier. But this is not always the case. Wooden structures are often destroyed by earthquakes, plus they are generally more vulnerable to fire and typhoons than stone buildings. The stone castles built on Osaka Nagoya and other places to fend off the threat of European firearms, often survived earthquakes better than wood temples and shrines."

earthquake building experiment Providing a better explanation for dominance of wood, Edward Morse wrote in 1885, "The Japanese house answers admirably the purposed for which it was intended. A fireproof building is certainly beyond the means of a majority of these people, as indeed it is with us; and not being able to build such a dwelling, they have from necessity, built a house whose very structure enables it to be rapidly demolished in the path a conflagration."

"Mats, screen partitions, and even the board ceilings can be quickly packed up and carried away," Morse wrote. "The roof is rapidly denuded of its tiles and boards, and the skeleton framework left makes but slow fuel for the flames. The efforts of the firemen in checking the progress of a conflagration consist mainly in tearing down these adjustable structures; and in this connection it may be interesting to record the curious fact often times at a fire the streams are turned, not upon the flames, but upon the men engaged in tearing down the building!"

Gojunoto is an earthquake-resistant pagoda erected in 1407 in Nara. The five stories oscillate in opposed phases when there are tremors, which keeps the structure from breaking apart. There is no evidence of the structure ever collapsing. The same techniques are used in modern buildings. The Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto has survived more than five centuries of earthquakes. During a tremor the entire building sways as each story moves independent around a central anchoring pillar. Scientists are now studying the pagoda for clues on making modern buildings more earthquake-resistant.

Earthquake Resistant Homes and the Japanese Government

18-story model on earthquake protectors An estimated 75 percent of the houses in Japan are earthquake-proof. The government wants to raise the figure to 90 percent. To this end the government has provided tax incentives and subsidies for people who want to make earthquake-resistant improvements to their houses.

Earthquake-proofing laws are surprisingly vague. Real estate agents often do not disclose the true condition of the properties they sell. Houses built before the 1981 were built before earthquake standards were imposed. Those built after the Kobe earthquake in 1995 are best because strict laws were imposed after that.

An effort is being to install earthquake-resistant technology in older houses and provide subsidies to cover the costs. In most cases if the costs exceed $10,000 the subsidy with cover about 60 percent of the costs. Poorer, older people especially are reluctant to shoulder the cost. For them the government is trying to convince them to put earthquake-resistant technology in a single room with the idea being that if they improve a single room the chances of the entire house collapsing are lessened.

It estimated that 11.5 million homes nationwide fail to live up to government quake tolerances standards set in 1981. Many are wooden houses built before 1981. The renovation usually involve installing pillars, diagonal crossbeams or walls that make the structure strong. The renovations typically cost about $30,000. The government provides subsidies that pay for about a forth of the cost of making the old homes earthquake resistant.

Earthquake proofing has not been applied to many school and hospitals, which are evacuation sites in the event of a quake.

Much of the money made available by various local and national governments for making one’s home more resistant to earthquakes goes unused.

Earthquakes, Injuries, Insurance, Compensation and Profits in Japan

Stanford's NEESR-SG Controlled Rocking machine Because the premiums are so high, only 7.2 percent of households in Japan carry earthquake insurance. Only three percent of the residents of the prefecture that includes Kobe had insurance when the Kobe earthquake struck in 1995. Some policies are part of fire insurance policies.

The Enright Real Estate Co has made handsome profits by spending hundred of millions of dollars to buy up old Tokyo buildings and making them earthquake resistant and then selling them or renting them at significantly higher prices.

After the Iwate-Miyagi earthquake in June 2008, families whose houses were destroyed received $30,000 in emergency aid. Those who stayed in temporary housing for many months received $8,000 to $20,000 according to the size of their family, people whose businesses were affected received $5,000 to $20,000 while those who lost their jobs because of the quake got $5,000. In Koei district up to $100,000 was given to people whose farms were damaged.

The Victims Relief Law ensures that homeowners will be compensated for the loss of property in the event of a disaster such as a flood or earthquake, Compensation, however, often falls short of what is necessary to replace property as it was. According to one survey 54 percent of the 7,976 houses nationwide damaged by natural disasters from April 2004 to December 2006 could apply for housing-related benefits under the law, Among them only 19 percent receive the full money for which they applied. Some prefecture and municipality governments have their own schemes which provide additional relief for disaster victims. The Tottori government gives victims $30,000.

Earthquake Rescue Teams

<br/> After an earthquake the survivors in single family homes are rescued primarily by friends and relatives. Rescue teams concentrate on large buildings where their efforts can be used more efficiently to save lives.

The first emergency people on the scene are members of the search team who use dogs and electronic devices to locate survivors. Before bodies can be removed a technical team assess the damage and tries to figure where survivors might be located by determining how the building looked when it was standing, where the people are likely to have been, and what way they might have tried to flee. The technical team monitors the removal of debris and deals with problems that may arise with explosives of hazardous material.

The Rescue team, consisting primarily of rescue personnel from the police and fire departments, carefully remove the debris. They often cut it away and rarely use heavy machinery out of fear of causing further injury. The Medical team can provide care even before the victim is removed. If possible victims are given water and if necessary an injection. Doctors have to be especially careful if a complication known as crush syndrome—in which toxins build up in crushed muscle tissue—occurs. When the object pinning the victim is removed toxin can enter the blood stream, causing liver failure or even death within moments. [Source: New York Times]

Japanese earthquake search and rescue teams are outfit with dogs, seismographic equipment and cameras at the end of optical fiber cables New rescue equipment is available that uses electromagnetic waves to detect the hearts beats and breathing of people trapped in the rubble. The machines can detect movement through concrete block three meters and perform many of the duties performed by dogs.

In the event of a major Tokyo area earthquake, a plan calls for the mobilization of 20,000 troops in 24 hours , with 17,000 more on the second and 37,500 more on top of that on the third day.

Image Sources: Disaster Prevention Research Institute, University of Kyoto, USGS, Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Daily Yomiuri, Times of London, Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Page Top

© 2009 Jeffrey Hays

Last updated March 2010