Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year’s Day started off the year in Japan in deadly fashion and the country has been rattled by earthquakes all year. A 7.1 tremor in the Nankai Trough region in western Japan prompted the government to issue a megaquake warning in August.

Both Tokyo and the southern coast of Japan are overdue another major earthquake and the government warning was a reminder to Japan’s citizens to be prepared. But with earthquakes being so unpredictable, people become complacent.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, KURIYAMA Shinichi, Director of Department of Disaster Public Health for the International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University, encouraged people to prepare in case of a major quake.

Top of the list was making buildings earthquake-proof. Most casualties in an earthquake come from people being crushed by buildings, walls, and furniture. The rigidity of buildings can be greatly improved with crossbeams and other modifications and the building codes in Japan have been improved since the early 1980s. However, many houses built before this time – when new regulations were introduced – have not been modified and are prone to collapse. In addition, building regulations are not always enforced.

“Old buildings as well as new buildings should be made earthquake-proof,” Kuriyama said. “But even if you follow the regulations, other problems such as ground liquefaction might cause problems.” While hazard maps predicting earthquakes are not always reliable, Kuriyama said people looking for houses could consult local governments to avoid areas that are prone to flooding, landslides, and liquefaction.

“Fundamentally speaking, it is very, very difficult to predict in a precise way when and where an earthquake could happen, so we have to base our predictions on past events,” he said. The reason the government issued the megaquake alert was because the probability of a major quake had fallen from one in several thousand to one in several hundred.

Kuriyama said preparations for earthquakes should include stockpiling supplies of water, food, and even temporary toilets. Ironically, one of the consequences of the government’s megaquake warning was to prompt people to stockpile rice, causing shortages in some areas of Japan.

Equally important, Kuriyama said, was evacuation. “Just run away,” he said. However, he acknowledged that the old and infirm can’t escape quickly and plans must be put in place to ensure such people are not left behind. Many people died in the 2011 tsunami because they weren’t able to run away.

Kuriyama also said the government should take care of survivors who could suffer from PTSD and might even be suicidal. Some survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami are only now starting to confront their fears and their memories and losses. “In order to study the problem, we have learned from the survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.

In conclusion, Kuriyama said: “I still think the risk of a ‘big one’ is very real, so we should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s no good just doing something after an event.”