EARTHQUAKES100th Anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake: Is Japan Ready for the Next Big One?
Japan is marking 100 years since a devastating earthquake triggered a widespread inferno in Kanto, a region that includes the capital, Tokyo. Most of the tens of thousands of victims perished in the fire. seismologists put the likelihood of another major quake beneath the Kanto region of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures at 70% in the next 30 years.
Shortly before midday on Friday, Japan marked the 100th anniversary of the most destructive earthquake in the nation’s modern history with solemn reminders that the next “big one” could strike the congested capital, Tokyo, at any moment.
And while as many as 142,000 people died in the Great Kanto Earthquake and the fires that tore through Tokyo and Yokohama, experts have warned that the Japanese public is largely unprepared for another natural disaster that is simply inevitable.
Indeed, seismologists put the likelihood of another major quake beneath the Kanto region of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures at 70% in the next 30 years.
Today, Kanto is home to about 43.3 million people and is the heartbeat of the Japanese economy. In contrast, the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck the far more sparsely populated northeastern part of the country, yet still left around 20,000 dead and an enormous and costly recovery project in its wake.
10 Minutes of Shaking, Aftershocks for Days
The 1923 megathrust tremor struck with an estimated 7.9 magnitude and just 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) beneath the surface. Survivors’ accounts indicated the shaking lasted up to 10 minutes, with landslides and a tsunami of up to 12 meters (40 feet) striking long stretches of coastline to the south of the capital. There were dozens of aftershocks over the following days.
Many of the deaths were attributed to fires that broke out in the congested back streets of Tokyo and Yokohama, where most houses were still made of wood. There are stories of people being caught in vortexes of fire when their feet became stuck in the melting tarmac of roads.
September 1 was designated as Disaster Prevention Day in 1960, and today local governments carry out disaster drills involving the evacuation of buildings as well as exercises by volunteer firefighters and emergency medical teams.
Schools across the country also conduct emergency drills, along with many private companies.
Yet, despite the scale of the disaster — and a vivid reminder of the power that earthquakes can unleash just 12 years ago — many Japanese remain indifferent about the danger they face.
What Lessons Have Been Learned?
Takako Tomura, a housewife from Yokohama, isn’t worried.
